Serving Up “Stealth Health”

Quick. What’s the theme that runs through these recent news stories?
Taco Bell rolls out a new Fresco Menu featuring nine items with less than 9 grams of fat.

Au Bon Pain serves up Portions, a line of 14 dishes that are all 200 calories or less.

Jack-in-the-Box debuts its new Smart Choice logo to help direct guests to lighter menu options.

If you guessed that chain restaurants are bringing more options to the table that provide smaller portions, fewer calories, and healthier alternatives, pour yourself a Diet Coke . . . and keep reading.

Truth be told, those are just a few of the recent headlines grabbed by chain restaurants. Last month, Fuddruckers debuted “lite” burgers as part of a Lighter Options Menu; Quiznos introduced 200-calorie flatbread “Sammies” in November, and Burger King has announced plans to add flame-broiled chicken tenders and apples sliced to resemble thick-cut fries for the under-12 set.

Quick-serve and casual-dining chains are getting more creative at catering to health-conscious consumers without compromising taste. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, they’re not using the word healthy to tell the story — opting instead for words and phrases like “guiltless,” “sensible,” “smart,” “fresh” and “better for you.” It’s part of a strategy referred to inside industry circles as “stealth health” — packing meals with nutritional value but backing away from a hard sell.

“Using the word healthy to describe a new menu offering can be the kiss of death,” says Kevin Higar, director of operator product development for Chicago-based research and consulting firm Technomic. “Consumers hear that and assume it won’t taste good.” Instead, chain restaurants are talking about smaller portion sizes, freshness and less fat, which resonates better with consumers.

“Over the years, chain restaurants have done a lot of things to make the food they serve better for their guests, including cutting sodium levels, sourcing higher-quality products and using whole-grain breads,” Higar says, “but sometimes too much emphasis on healthy can backfire.”

Restaurants also are shifting from grouping all the healthier menu items together to integrating them into the appetizer, salads and entrée menu listings. It’s all part of an over-arching plan to be sure that guests who are looking for healthier options find enough good-tasting choices to return again and again — and avoid getting a veto vote from those who feel their dietary needs are not being satisfied.

Lifestyle decision
“Choosing to follow a balanced and healthy menu is an important lifestyle decision,” says Jack Whipple, president of the National Council of Chain Restaurants, a division of NRF. “Chain restaurant companies understand that, and they’re making sure that they provide options and alternatives for those guests who are watching their consumption of calories, fat, sodium, sugar and other nutritional ingredients as part of pursuing a balanced lifestyle approach.”

One area where Whipple feels chain restaurants could be doing an even better job is spreading the word that there are so many choices available. “It's time to turn the spotlight on all the menu options being offered and be sure they're communicating how the current menu options can fit into a balanced, active lifestyle.”

Chain restaurants might be well-served to heed Whipple’s advice. Research conducted by San Clemente, Calif.-based Sandelman & Associates finds that the sales of so-called healthier fare began to level off last year.

According to the data, one-quarter of surveyed consumers “say they choose healthier options on some or all of their visits to quick-serve and casual-dining chains, but that’s down a bit from the percentages recorded three and four years prior,” says founder and president Bob Sandelman. “And about one-third of the consumers polled say they never purchase these items.”

More recently, the focus has shifted to portion size. Messaging around portion size has been in use for years, but for reasons experts can’t really explain, it finally seems to be resonating with consumers. Some speculate that the 100-calorie snack packs have helped consumers climb the learning curve; others attribute the new-found emphasis on portion size to the “mini” fad and to chains such as Seasons 52, which has gained attention for its lighter approach to dining (and its bite-sized desserts that allow guests to indulge without overdoing it).

T.G.I. Friday’s was the first casual-dining chain to take a broad approach to portion size, and “it’s a leadership position we won’t relinquish,” says Mike Archer, president and COO of T.G.I. Friday’s USA. “We continue to be the only casual-dining chain to move in a more holistic way to address smaller portions and lower prices.”

The chain’s Right Portion, Right Price menu is backed by a survey by Harris Interactive on behalf of T.G.I. Friday’s, which found that 82 percent of U.S. adults find it challenging to watch how much they eat when dining out and prefer to dine at a restaurant that offers entrées in various portion sizes.

In most cases, McDonald’s menu items are lower in fat and calories than other restaurants, and the portion sizes are more in keeping with dietary recommendations.

“It’s not about classifying certain foods or food groups as ‘healthy’ versus ‘non-healthy,’” says Daniel Coudreaut, director of culinary innovation for McDonald’s USA. “It’s about understanding balance and moderation. There are no bad foods: All foods can fit into a balanced, active lifestyle.”

Interestingly, McDonald’s has provided nutrition information on its menu for more than 30 years and has had salads on the menu since the late 1980s. By the end of 2004, in fact, it had emerged within the fast-food industry as the largest seller of salads in the United States.

Ban on trans fats
At Brinker International, a multi-concept operator with more than 1,800 casual-dining-style restaurants, diverse menu offerings are provided to meet an equally wide variety of dietary needs. Romano’s Macaroni Grill offers Steak & Arugula Salad and Simple Salmon on its sensible fare menu; Chili’s Bar & Grill serves up the Guiltless Grill Menu, consisting of four dishes with fewer than 650 calories; and On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina provides the Border Smart Menu (four dishes under 590 calories).

Brinker “eliminated trans fatty acids from our cooking oil in early 2005 and began using a proprietary formula of trans-free cooking oil in kitchen fryers,” says company spokeswoman Stacey Sullivan. “Now we’re investigating product innovations which will allow the reduction or elimination of artificial trans fats from all menu items.”

At Taco Bell, a division of Yum! Brands, executives say that offering menu choices to consumers who are trying to eat better has been a top priority for years. “In September 2003 we launched Fresco Style, an option to provide our customer with menu items with less fat and calories and all the same great taste of Taco Bell,” says director of media relations Rob Poetsch. The chain completed a system-wide switch to 0 gram trans fat canola oil last spring; in January it introduced the Fresco Menu — nine items with less than 9 grams of fat.

Taco Bell executives are pleased with the initial customer response to the Fresco Menu, Poetsch says.

Ruby Tuesday calls its lighter selections Smart Eating Choices. Introduced five years ago, the offerings have evolved and expanded to keep the chain from getting “vetoed” by one or more diners who want to go out, but prefer to choose a restaurant that has something for everyone, says Rick Johnson, senior vice president of Ruby Tuesday.

Johnson also points out that Ruby Tuesday is “the only major chain in the casual dining arena that has a salad bar” and that “about 40 percent of all guests visit our fresh garden bar to create an entrée salad or a side salad.”