Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Healthy, Sustainable Fast-Food Chain

• Opportunity: Fast food is the leading cause of obesity in America. However, healthy eating can reduce the risk of chronic illness and disease including the three leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer and stroke. 
• The who: Americans 
• The what: They are trying to eat healthy
• The why: Eating well is fundamental to good health and well-being. Healthy eating helps maintain a healthy body weight and reduce risk of diseases. 

• Testing the who: Not just Americans have this need because obesity is a global epidemic. The "who" is not limited to Americans, females or males. It is anyone who is working towards improving their diet and living a healthier lifestyle. But, the majority of the "who" are those who live busy lifestyles, often on-the-go, who have very little time to cook a healthy meal. 

• Testing the what: Fast food chains are based on cheap, unhealthy ingredients, as well as a consistent experience at any store location. Offering healthy foods implies less processing and more fresh ingredients, but these things are harder to keep consistent from location to location and across different states. Healthy food is more expensive, making it a challenge to keep costs down. Plus, Americans in different regions of the country have different ideas of what it means to eat healthy. Healthy chain restaurants may only work in certain regions of the country. 

• Testing the why: Obesity has been a growing epidemic in the United States for decades, and in recent years people have started to focus on changing their habits to be more health-conscious because they want to live longer lives. One of the leading causes of obesity is the fast food industry. In the same way that smoking in America has gone down from 36% in 1978 to 16% in 2018 (Gallup) after research found that it led to cancer, it has been proven through research that obesity is linked to disease (TFAH). A course correct is necessary for the health of the nation. 

• Interview #1
• This interview was conducted with an undergrad student studying for law school. She thinks this is a really good idea and could be good on college campuses, however she did have some concerns. She suggested a focus on price considerations because the first thing that comes to mind is that healthy food is expensive. College students love fast food because you can get a lot of food for not a lot of money. With healthy food, often time it's less band for your buck. To be successful on college campuses, she suggested I find a sweet spot between healthy options and relatively lower prices. She had the idea of working with local producers to save money and provide fresh, local foods that are in season. She suggested a focus on seasonality and sustainability, including moral meat consumption. Maybe focus on how the food is good for you and good for the environment. She also mentioned with regards to different dietary needs, to stay on top of the latest trends like keto and having options for the latest fads. She mentioned that people tend to associate healthy food with salads, so offering a wide variety of foods could help break down that association. 

• Interview #2
• This interview was conducted with a social worker who is frequently on the road driving to meet with different families. She said when it comes to fast food, she makes her pick based on what they're offering. Money is not her first priority, rather she cares more about what foods she likes and what she's in the mood for. She suggested that if there is a menu that is changing with the seasons, make sure to gauge consumer feedback and not take off the super popular items. She also suggested serving the same fun foods people love, just made in a healthy way. She suggested not to have a drive-thru window because she associates them with food that is pre-made, rather than fresh, and often times it takes a long time and can ruin the experience. She suggested a way to stand out and have a competitive advantage over other places is to have a sustainability element. She liked the idea of being completely plastic-free and having biodegradable/compostable items, like cups and straws. She suggested having diverse food options, but not too much in the beginning because it can be overwhelming and expensive. She suggested offering meals that are easily customizable for each person's dietary needs, as opposed to having vegan meals, gluten-free meals, keto meals, etc. She said that cost is s big issue too. There is a stigma around healthy food and that it costs more to eat healthy. She also mentioned that healthy eating is subjective. She liked the idea of focusing on the fact that the food is made with clean, real ingredients, rather than the blanket term of the food being "healthy." She sees the opportunity to influence college students to grow those healthy habits while they are still in school.

• Interview #3
• This interview was conducted with a physical therapist who commutes 30-45 minutes to work every day. There are some days where she spends a lot of time in the car driving to meet with different patients at their homes if she is not at the clinic. She loved the idea of a healthy fast food place. She said it was definitely somewhere that she would go. When she needs to grab food fast she usually goes to Chick-fil-a because she knows that they have healthy options there. She suggested focusing on the simple types of foods that everyone loves at fast food places - a burger and fries. Maybe come up with a healthy burger that is customizable in terms of your dietary needs. Vegan/vegetarian burgers, keto burgers, gluten free buns, sweet potato fries, etc. She cautioned not to try to do too much and to know what you can do and do it well. She suggested looking into Vale Food Co. They offer healthy customizable options, but it's not fast. She suggested focusing on speed rather than on the customizability. She liked the idea of burgers with different patties for different diets, fun healthy toppings, like avocado, and custom buns. Keep it simple. Don't have too much variety. She liked the idea of focusing on foods that are in season, but she cautioned that there should also be some amount of consistency. Minimize the menu and don't have too much variability. 

• Interview #4
• This interview was conducted with the an executive from a local public relations firm. Living a healthy lifestyle is very important to her. She loves to cook and enjoys preparing healthy meals for her family. She also works out with a personal trainer at a strength training gym multiple times every week. Given the type of work that she does, she is often on the road for meetings with different clients. She avoids fast food at all costs, but when she does have to eat fast food, she does her research on the calorie content and tries to make the healthiest choice possible. She liked the idea of a healthy fast food place because she believes fast should not be unhealthy. She suggested not to make the menu too diverse, and to clearly define what I'm offering. You can't be everything to everybody. She said to focus on the key identifiers - keto, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, etc. Focus on being plant-based and clean. She suggested fixed options over customizable options, and options that are easy to grab-and-go. She mentioned that young people at her office spend a lot of money on lunch every day. 

• Interview #5
• This interview was conducted with the business owner of a local video production company. He is focused on living a healthy lifestyle by growing fresh fruits, vegetable, and herbs in his own home garden, and he often enjoys going on long bike rides through some of the local trails and state parks. However, he frequently travels for work, so he does have to eat fast food relatively often as well. He loved this idea, especially the idea of taking into account sustainability, like single-use packages and composting. He said to avoid trying to spread myself too thin by trying to do something for everyone. He suggested focusing on more on being plant-based and forget about keto. You can't cater to everyone. He suggested figuring out the niche. He said to consider price point and how to keep costs down, like by staying in season and local. But he warned that this model will not work everywhere. He suggested staying regional and maybe even staying within the southeast, that way we can utilize the resources here and stay sustainable. He also said that one thing he doesn't like about healthy restaurants is that they tend to skimp on portions, offering a smaller amount of food. He suggested finding a sweet spot between reasonable prices and good portions. 

• Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before?

• After talking to different people, I feel confident that there is a need here and that this could be solution to that need. So many people want healthier fast food options, but they also love the convenience of fast food and how cheap it is. Finding a happy medium between price, portion, and taste is going to be key. 
• I noticed that sustainability was a big draw for everyone I talked to. This seems like a good way to stand out from other healthy restaurant competitors, but it's going to take some thinking through to figure out how we can be more sustainable while still providing good food at a good price. 
• I realized how important it is that I focus on a niche in terms of the type of food that is going to be offered. Before talking to people, I wanted to offer something for everyone and every type of diet out there. But the reality is you can't offer everything for everyone. After talking to people, I realize that I just want to focus on plant-based foods. 
• I want to figure out how to work with local farmers to utilize the resources being grown here. This will help cut back on fossil fuels and serve the mission of being sustainable. I'd also love to figure out how to add a composting element and completely avoid single-use plastics. 
• I think there is an opportunity to base the menu around the foods that are in season. I think it's important to have a menu with fixed options rather than customizable options, but I think it could be interesting to have some seasonal items based on whatever foods are in season that time of year.