Fast Food Restaurants Thrive Post-Lockdown

Quick-service restaurants, an important market for food processors, have been thriving lately despite suffering from higher prices and labor problems.

Comparable sales at Burger King rose by 18.2% in the second quarter compared with last year. McDonald’s grew comparable sales by 15%, and Yum Brands, parent of KFC, Taco Bell and other chains, grew 19%, according to the Wall Street Journal.

There had been speculation that higher ingredient prices, passed along to customers, would depress traffic. But McDonald’s increased its menu prices by 6% in the second quarter with no appreciable effect on demand.

The biggest barrier to QSR growth right now would seem to be labor problems. Domino’s Pizza, which grew second-quarter sales 3.5% despite having a delivery-based business model, said that it opened up 35 new U.S. locations in the quarter, which was below expectations; it was held back in part by difficulty in finding labor.