Convenience Trumps Nutrition in GutCheck’s Latest On-Demand Research on Fast Food Restaurants
Denver, CO (PRWEB) July 22, 2013 -- GutCheck, a leading on-demand research community platform, today released research findings on how weekly fast food consumers perceive the nutrition of fast food. According to consumers 18-55, convenience is the most important factor in their fast food choice, not nutrition.
GutCheck conducted a one-day Instant Research Community (IRC) with weekly fast food consumers in response to the July 1 report by the U.S. consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest that Long John Silver’s ‘Big Catch’ meal was the worst restaurant meal in America because of its high fat and calorie content.
According to GutCheck’s on-demand research community findings, consumers are well aware that fast food is not the best nutritional choice they can make, but they are willing to sacrifice nutrition for convenience. Some consumers also said that they go to a fast food restaurant to indulge in food that might not be as healthy, but tastes great.
Consumers in the study reported attempting to select the healthiest choices, substituting out high calorie options and even splitting the meal into two portions.
“Consumers understand that fast food restaurants are businesses providing a service, but ultimately each customer has the ability to choose what they should order,” said Matt Warta, CEO and founder of GutCheck.
Consumers overwhelmingly reported that it is the responsibility of the customer to make healthy choices for themselves, rather than the fast food restaurant to provide healthy food. When asked if they believe it is the responsibility of fast food restaurants to make the food reasonably healthy, only 22 percent responded affirmatively. That is in contrast to the 78 percent who believe it is the responsibility of the consumer to make reasonably healthy choices for themselves.
Recent news about the high calorie and/or high fat content in fast food meals did not surprise consumers, nor did it impact their opinion of fast food restaurants in general. They expect fast food meals to have less nutritional value than what they could cook at home.
Ultimately, for consumers to make those healthy choices, they are in favor of having the nutritional value of menu items posted. It allows more health-conscious customers to be selective in their ordering, while having little to no impact on those who wish to order indulgently. Opinions on what a healthy and appealing fast food meal include generally focused on salads, sandwiches, and grilled chicken.
For a complete recap of the research findings and a printable resource, see the GutCheck infographic at http://gutcheckit.com/education/.
About GutCheck
GutCheck is an on-demand research community platform that provides real-time insights from specific customers with quality that is equivalent to or better than traditional research communities. Unlike these offerings that can challenge timelines and budgets, GutCheck’s advanced tools and efficient services deliver relevant feedback in days instead of weeks and 3 – 5x more research for the same budget. For more information: http://gutcheckit.com.
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Media Contact:
Laura Taylor
Taylor Strategic Communications for GutCheck
taylor-laura(at)comcast(dot)net
(303) 346-9149 office
(720) 556-2640 mobile
Laura Taylor, GutCheck, http://www.gutcheckit.com, +1 (303) 346-9149, [email protected]
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