Joe's Breakfast Links pt. 6

• The IPO of Snap Inc, or more commonly known as Snapchat, yesterday made a lot of early investors millions of dollars along with a few other business news stories I read this week, made me think just how crazy and ever changing the business landscape is today.  A company that started because people didn’t want a history of their texts and photos between friends last infinitely is now one of the biggest financial stories of 2017 thus far.  SnapChat’s success is also a reflection of how other businesses are trying to adapt and attract this new consumer, that let’s face it, might be hard to please.

So for this week’s breakfast links I wanted to share stories of companies trying to figure out this new       consumer landscape that wants things that are fast, easy, cheap, good for the environment, trendy, but not too trendy.  Then, be prepared because every consumer has a camera, video camera, multiple social media accounts and is prepared to put your product or service on blast if they aren’t satisfied. And because I am hungry this morning, I decided to focus on food companies. 

• One example is a small restaurant chain named McDonald’s. You may have heard of it or seen five of them on your way to work today.  McDonald’s was in the news this week with disappointing earnings numbers in its quarterly earnings, but some of the headlines are interesting to note.  It was social media pressure that is leading to a change in their ice cream.  Apparently some people get quite agitated when they are waiting in their minivan for several minutes to order only to find out the ice cream machine isn’t working. Article Here
• Also, another note is McDonald’s is trying to improve its sales by making ordering easier for consumers.  Again, I thought pulling up to an ordering screen and announcing what you want for lunch and having it in a bag in less than three minutes was the epitome of fast and easy, but apparently McDonald’s is now looking into online ordering and delivery. Article Here
  
• Not that there is anything wrong with having food delivered directly to you.  One company built on people’s love for lunch and dinner being brought to their front door is GrubHub.  The publicly traded company announced growth of revenue by 38% this, but still had its stock fall as it fell short of investor expectations.  Of course more interesting though is what people ordered using GrubHub on Oscar night last Sunday. Well, here is that.
• Sticking with food, Hershey’s was also in the news this week.  The massive company built on our love for sugar announced layoffs around the globe in a program they call ‘margin for growth’.  As someone who struggles with a love for sugar, I can attest to the growth. Despite the layoffs the CEO Michele Buck said they are still well-positioned because of chocolate being “highly compulsive” with “expandable consumption.”  Buck, who I am not sure is aware of the play on words she has provided, also said that they are well-positioned because consumers tend to snack more regularly and frequently throughout the day.  Article Here