Few industries are as deeply stitched into the fabric of American culture as fast food. Yet greater awareness and continuously changing perspectives around health and wellness are forcing consumers to reevaluate their relationships with this sector as ever more studies are highlighting the addictive and harmful effects of processed foods. The rise of Ozempic and other drugs that reduce appetite may permanently change consumption patterns and are certainly greatly influencing them in the short term. Low wages and labor shortages continue to plague employees and brands. Federal messaging on which foods and ingredients are safe and which ones aren’t is constantly shifting, often overriding decades of precedent. The industry’s foundations are being tested both by changes in demand and by changing definitions of indulgence.
In our 2025 Brand Intimacy Study, the fast food industry holds the highest score (45) for the indulgence archetype, which centers on delivering moments of pampering and gratification. It is also #4 among all the industries we studied in the archetype of ritual (32), where a brand becomes vitally ingrained into daily actions.
The Industry’s Recipe for Connection
Fast food’s strength lies in its ability to create bonds across multiple dimensions spanning the financial, emotional, and cultural. For example, McDonald’s Happy Meal remains a cultural icon, embedding memories of joy and surprise that evolve into lifelong associations of comfort. McDonald’s, ranking #2 in the industry, demonstrates higher performance in indulgence compared to the other archetypes. The industry leader in indulgence, however, is Cinnabon, which anchors its appeal in gratification and abundance. This outperformance in the indulgence archetype contributes to Cinnabon’s #5 rank.
Starbucks, ranking first in the category and 14th overall in the study, exemplifies the ritual archetype and ranks first for ritual in the industry. The brand turns the morning coffee run into a repeatable and predictable activity that fuses convenience with comfort and transforms a daily purchase into an essential act.
Fast food brands have also mastered the art of acting like entertainment companies. McDonald’s has turned collaborations into global events. Its Travis Scott partnership merged food, fashion, and community, sparking viral fandom.2 Taco Bell has long partnered with Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation to stage console giveaways and cobranded promotions. These efforts help make brands feel like cultural players by creating moments of participation extending well beyond the dining experience.
Ever-present promotions such as value menus, meal deals, and loyalty rewards have long been used by fast food brands to indicate savings and reinforce repeat visits. Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s,1 in particular, have leaned into these programs to establish daily touchpoints that extend beyond the drive-through window.
Yum! Brands, along with Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, offers a diversified portfolio that thrives on menu innovation and off-premise expansion. Across all 25 brand families in our study, Yum! Brands achieves the highest score in indulgence, underscoring how deeply this archetype defines the category.
The sector’s ability to tap into moments adjacent to human emotional intimacy, such as the environments where we gather, the sensory experiences we associate with them, and, of course, the food we taste and consume, gives it an enduring appeal and base for success.
The Appetite Gap
Health and wellness dominate today’s cultural conversation, and health criticism remains the industry’s most stubborn liability, as fast food continues to be linked with obesity, diabetes, and poor nutrition. When fast food brands introduce salads, wraps, and other plant-based items on the menu, these efforts may be seen as inauthentic rather than meaningful commitments to wellness.
Fast-casual players such as Sweetgreen and Cava blur the line between convenience and quality, offering healthier options at similar price points. For many, these chains feel like the safer, more modern choice. These brands have spent the last decade pulling those less-price-sensitive consumers toward their offerings.
But fast food brands have also tried adjusting to shifting consumer preferences by expanding into options with plant-based proteins, flexitarian menus, and globally inspired flavors. Panera, ranking 16th in the category, is considered by most to be the healthiest fast food chain. Even Taco Bell, Chipotle, and Chick-fil-A (ranked 3rd, 8th, and 14th, respectively) offer menu items that can be customized into healthier choices, testing a somewhat oxymoronic theory that indulgent rituals and wellness may not have to be mutually exclusive.
Beyond the perception of fast food in particular, perceptions toward food in general have shifted. The spread of Ozempic and appetite-suppressing drugs is already changing how Americans eat, especially among lower-income consumers, a crucial audience for fast food chains. Analysts estimate that McDonald’s could lose up to 28 million customer visits, resulting in a revenue loss of $482 million annually, which represents about 0.9% of the company’s sales.6 If appetite decreases and frequency of meals shrinks, the very foundations of fast food consumption—ritual, indulgence, and repetition—are directly undermined.
The Costs of Cheap Comfort
The labor story behind the counter is equally fraught. Staffing shortages, wage disputes, and unionization drives have kept the industry under pressure. In the United States, the workforce is far more diverse and older than stereotypes suggest: Nearly a quarter of employees are Hispanic, and the majority are over 20, challenging the notion of its being a temporary “teenage job.”4
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about two-thirds of fast food workers are women, with many supporting families while earning wages that often hover around the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.4 Beyond pay, employees grapple with unpredictable scheduling, limited sick leave, and other conditions that shape their day-to-day experience. Poor working conditions can undermine the sense of trust and responsibility that intimacy requires.
At the same time, inflation and supply chain disruptions have pushed prices higher, challenging the category’s strongest value proposition. Consumers increasingly see fast food as less affordable than it once was, to the point that 78% of Americans now think of fast food meals as a “luxury.”5 This perception cuts directly against the promise of cheap and repeatable indulgence that defined the industry for decades. A typical McDonald’s outing for a family of four now costs between $40 and $50, a significant increase from prepandemic levels. According to Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, the average price of menu items has risen nearly 40% since 2019,6 a reminder that intimacy built purely on affordability is fragile.
Redefining Indulgence
Fast food brands are synonymous with America—efficient meals that satisfy taste, delivered quickly and affordably. And like America, for a time, these brands grew and dominated. The fast food industry outperforms many categories by embedding itself into culture through daily rituals and indulgences. However, these brands are now facing existential challenges from fluctuating demand, changing regulations, shifting demographics, and economic realities. The same qualities that once secured its dominance—abundance, low cost, and ubiquity—now risk becoming liabilities in a world increasingly defined by ultra-specific definitions of wellness and perceived authenticity. To thrive in the next chapter, fast food must redefine indulgence to align with consumer habits, maintain affordability without eroding quality, and use every brand moment and experience available to create and foster emotional customer bonds.
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Sources
1 Dave McQuilling, “We Tested 15 Fast Food Loyalty Apps and Ranked Them Worst to Best,” Tasting Table, modified April 17, 2024, https://www.tastingtable.com/1424948/fast-food-loyalty-apps-ranked-worst-best/
2 “McDonald’s and Iconic Global Artist Travis Scott Embark on an Unprecedented Collaborative Partnership Across Food, Fashion and Community, Launching with His Signature Order on Menus Across the U.S.,” McDonald’s Corporate, published September 3, 2020, https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/travis-scott-embark.html
3 Megan Cerullo, “McDonald’s Shares Slip after Downgrade Spurred by Weight-Loss Drug Popularity,” CBS News, published June 10, 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-downgrade-weight-loss-drugs/
4 Claire Savage, “Fast Food Workers Struggle to Survive Despite Industry’s Place in US Culture,” NBC Washington, modified January 25, 2025, https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/fast-food-mininum-wage-american-culture-laws/3825182/
5 Jelisa Castrodale, “78% of Americans Now Think of Fast Food Meals as a ‘Luxury,’” Food & Wine, published May 28, 2024, https://www.foodandwine.com/fast-food-prices-lendingtree-survey-8702034
6 Ece Yildirim, “McDonald’s exec says average menu item costs 40% more than in 2019,” CNBC, published May 29, 2024, https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/29/mcdonalds-cost-increases.html