The Very Official McDonalds (and other fast food outlets) Thread

[james2001]

Yeah sod the health benefits to the nation.

You’re going to struggle to find somewhere where you aren’t paying more for sugary drinks or “nannied” into diet drinks you can’t stand. Sugary drinks are being taxed more. I know based on your DS posts that you are completely anti anything this government does, but at least try and look at the bigger picture and why they are doing this, rather than whining about how it will affect you when you’re in Pizza Hut.

Well sorrrryyyyyy for voicing my opinion. As if half of this forum isn't people voicing their opinion about inconsequential things without "looking at the bigger picture" anyway.

As if I'm not healthy anyway- I go to the gym 3 times a week (only two hours ago I was soaked in sweat from some quite intensive cycling) and do 2 hours ice skating a week, so I'm not a fat slob sitting on my arse ordering takeaways (which we very rarely have) and stuffing my face with crisps and drinks all day while watching Jeremy Kyle. I have fresh apple & orange juice sitting in my fridge (which funnily enough actually have more sugar and calories than Coca-Cola, but are exempt from the tax). But I enjoy a nice drink when I go out for a meal, and I don't want to drink something that tastes like shit (with the questionable health effects of artifical sweeteners to boost) or be charged well over the odds for what I do enjoy. Sorry for daring to have an opinion on the subject that goes against yours.

[james2001]

A newly opened Burger King near me has got a self serve Coca-Cola Freestyle machine which, if you haven't tried one yet, is an incredibly exciting revolution in the world of soft drinks (Burger Lad has a write up here). I don't know how they're going to implement a two tier pricing system with that.

I was actually using them when over in the US before I saw any in the UK (in fact the first time I used them was at the World Of Coke in Atlanta), really love the "Cherry Vanilla" option. I first saw them in Five Guys over here. The local Burger King doesn't have them though. I like those machines too- going to be really gutted if they end up being restricted to "diet only" as well.

[barcode]

Some BK over here have been using the machines for years, over the past 18months have the extra favours have been added.

[thegeek]

Fuller's switched all of their 400ish pubs over to Pepsi Max on draught and regular Pepsi only available in bottles 18 months or so ago - and no-one really seemed to notice, let alone bother (even though they press-released it and you'd think it would be a great tabloid 'nannying' story)

Likewise, IKEA's fountain drinks switched to sugar-free about two years ago, and I don't recall much fuss about that.

[Pete]

I think the issue is they've had to rush and have arsed up their reformulations. Plus lucozade is something you literally buy for a hit of sugar. They should have just increased the cost of it.

The Nandos one is interesting. I've noticed inconsistency at Nandos with glasses though. Dundee give you a clear soda glass if you're having fizzy, a blue soda glass for water. Others give you a half height soda glass (like a scotch glass) and others give you a wine glass for water.

Theoretically, you could implement three tier pricing (or the policing of it) with three colours of glass, although you'd have to watch them at the machine as you can't as easily spot the freeloaders by looking for coloured juice in a blue glass.

[james2001]

I think the issue is they've had to rush and have arsed up their reformulations. Plus lucozade is something you literally buy for a hit of sugar. They should have just increased the cost of it.

I think part of the thing with Irn-Bru is it's seen by many as a symbol of Scottish identity, and the mere idea of changing it would have infuriated people anyway, the fact the new version doesn't taste right just makes it worse. People have been pointing out they have the diet and "Xtra" versions for people who wanted a healthier option, they should just have left the original alone.

It's similar to the New Coke thing in the 80s- a lot of the protests, maybe even most of them, came from the mere idea of them changing it, rather than what the actual product tasted like. There was a lot of people feeling their identity was being tampered with there too, especially from Southerners (as Coca-Cola is from Atlanta).

And to be honest, some of the responses I've seen Lucozade give out have been quite patronising, especially towards the concerns of diabetics who used it to treat their condition. The fact the recipe change wasn't really even publicised (I wasn't aware of it until I drank a bottle last year and realised it tasted off- there was nothing on the bottle apart from the changed nutritional information) meant many diabetics wouldn't have even been aware it didn't have the amount of glucose they were expecting also doesn't help them.

Not to mention some of their twitter posts have been implying people who don't like it aren't interested in being healthy- which considering their advertising for as long as I can remember has basically positioned it as being a drink to give an energy boost to active people is quite a joke. Lucozade was probably more likely to be drunk by people who care about their health than most other sugary drinks (until last year it was for sale in the vending machine in my gym- no other sugary drinks were. Same with the ice skating rink I go to, though they do still sell it).

Apparently the new recipe Ribena has something like 15 times the amount of salt as the old one- so not the healthiest change to have made either. Around 95% of the tweets on their twitter page seem to be them replying to complaints about the new recipe. Same company as Lucozade (and just like Lucozade, no promotion or mention of the recipe change outside of the nutritional information), neither have handled the customer concerns very well. I don't think patronising your customers and effectively saying it's for their own good is the best way to go about things.

[Alexia]

Even if it is?

Basically they could have gone two ways. Reduce the sugar content and not qualify for the tax, thus saving outgoings while changing the product, or keep the product the same and incur the tax, and pass the cost on to the consumer. Of course with the second option you run the risk of the product price having to rise every time the Chancellor deems it fit, as happens with other items such as cigarettes, spirits and wine. That could easily lead to sales dropping off a cliff if not managed correctly, and Lucozade et al don't exactly have the brand loyalty that Coke or Pepsi have, or the culture associated with drinking, or the addiction associated with tobacco.

[james2001]

If reports are to be believed, Lucozade's sales already have dropped off a cliff as a result of the reformulation anyway.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/business/ ... d-11468144

I certainly always used to buy a bottle every week to go with my ice skating session- I don't any more.

I'm interested in seeing what happens to Ribena and Irn-Bru as well seeing as their customers seem to be very vocally unhappy (and Irn-Bru DOES have very strong brand loyalty in Scotland). And Ribena already had a lower sugar "light" option as well as a sugar free for people who wanted it, which to me feels like making the reformulation even less neccessary. The fact they kept the recipe change under the radar, didn't put it on the label and clearly hoped people wouldn't notice speaks volumes.

Interesting actually that a lot of the comments I've seen aimed at Ribena come from people with intolerances to the sweeteners and thickeners they now use. They drank Ribena because it was one of the few remaining drinks without them in, were unaware of the change (few people will look at the nutritional information if there's no indication anything has changed) and ended up being ill as a result. Some people do have genuine reasons for avoiding artifical sweeteners other than just not liking their taste, and they seem to be being ignored in all this.

It's easy to paint sugar as the new bogeyman, but artificial sweeteners aren't a magic solution.

[Philip]

I guess it’s better late than never to post my thoughts on the Grand Big Mac I tried a few weeks ago: yes, it’s a Big Mac that’s bigger, but it’s too much. If it was a permanent item you’d try it once for the novelty and then never have it again. Which is why it was a one off I suppose.

The Big Tasty is still the best burger they make though it is infuriatingly only available during half of the year when they don’t have some other promotion on.

Also re: Lucozade I know it’s supposed to be an energy drink but when I was in secondary school kids just bought it and drank it like it was a normal fizzy drink, rather than treating it as similar to Boost or Red Bull. The different flavours didn’t help that perception.

[Pete]

I miss the old chicken premiere. You used to be able to make a fake version by asking for cool mayo and salsa on the legend, but now the legend is either BBQ or spicy mayo :/

Also miss the smarties mcflurry.

And the greek chicken thingy. That used to be nice.

[Philip]

I miss the Smarties McFlurry too! That was my favourite, just get the Dairy Milk one now.