Two fast food restaurants have made waves in the healthy food industry over the last year. Organic and non-gmo waves, that is.
Chipotle took a national stand on GMOs earlier this year, and last month, the first organic restaurant called Amy’s Drive-Thru officially opened.
Take that McDonalds!
In April of 2015, Chipotle took an official stance against GMOs, finally completing their plan to remove all GMOs from their food.
Curious what the biggest culprit of GMOs was? Soybean oil. They moved away from conventional soybean oil (which contains GMOs), and as an alternative, they switched to sunflower oil for frying and rice bran oil for cooking, grilling, and sautéing. Both oils are naturally non-gmo.
This highly publicized decision brought them an incredible amount of press and support from customers.
Chipotle's move is "a very big deal," says Rebecca Spector, West Coast director at the Center for Food Safety. "They're setting an example for others that GMO-free can be done."
Another key part of this discussion? Ells says the move to non-GMO ingredients did not result in "significantly higher" ingredient costs, nor, he says, did the company raise prices. Source
So it can be done!
On July 20th, 2015, Amy’s Drive-Thru openeing, becoming the nation’s first organic fast-food restaurant.
This restaurant is an extension of the Amy’s Kitchen organic frozen food brand.
They serve all-american food like burgers, burritos, pizza, shakes, chili, salads, and french fries — but each with a healthy twist.
More than 95% of Amy’s Drive-Thru ingredients are organic. All are non-GMO. They’re also vegetarian, meeting the needs of a growing crowd of vegetarians in the US.
Every menu item has a vegan or gluten-free option, and everything – down to the tofu, pizza dough and the pasta for the mac ‘n’ cheese – is made from scratch. You can also read the full menu here.
The price point is higher than most typical fast food, but inline with fast casual chains like Chipotle and Panera. Customers will be able to buy a meal for under $9 and have it delivered within three-and-a-half minutes, a key to drive-thru success. Source
Both restaurants reflect the growing focus on healthy foods in today’s market.
The food manufacturing industry has experienced the blossoming of organic and non-gmo trends over the last 2 years. Food service, however, often experiences these trends much slower due to the importance of low prices in the industry.
These two restaurants show a big leap that’s been taken in the food industry over the last year.
Demand for healthy food from consumers has finally caused a “tipping point”, and restaurants are changing and emerging to meet their needs.