Burgers “outsell baguettes” in France for first time

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Europe

France, the capital of cuisine, has reportedly capitulated to US-style fast food, with a new study suggesting burgers outsold traditional ham baguettes for the first time last year.

Long fierce defenders of gourmet dining, quality ingredients and two-hour lunch breaks, changing tastes and lifestyles have altered French eating habits, if the study by Paris-based restaurant consultancy Gira Conseil is to be believed.

Slices of ham, butter and cornichons served in a baguette have long made the beurre-jambon a common lunchtime fix in France. /VCG Photo

The report states that some 1.46 billion hamburgers were consumed in France in 2017, coming out on top against 1.22 billion baguettes filled with slices of ham and slabs of butter.

Has McDomination conquered France?‍

The jambon-beurre has long been a staple on French lunchtime menus, but the burger has grown in popularity despite fierce resistance against “McDomination” in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The number of burgers consumed in France has grown 14 times over the past decade, with the humble beef patty in a sesame bun successfully crossing over from the fast food sector into the restaurant scene.

85 percent of all restaurants in France – excluding fast food chains – now have burgers on the menu. Outside of the US, France is now McDonald’s most profitable market. These are two statistics that would have been imaginable 20 years ago.

The 1990s was a high-profile period of activism against globalization for French farmers and foodies alike. The war on McDo saw a movement united behind José Bové, an activist and sheep farmer who vandalized and dismantled a McDonald’s restaurant in 1999.

2007: José Bové (C) leads a protest against genetically modified crops in southwest France. /VCG Photo

Bové would later run for president in the 2007 election and is now a member of the European Parliament.

Adapting to different tastes

Recognizing the lack of love the French had for its American-style cheese and cheap and cheerful menu options, McDonald’s launched a successful range of burgers topped with Roquefort, brie and camembert, which could be washed down with a serving of Kronenbourg, one of the country’s most popular beers.

Further moves upmarket in the fast food industry saw Belgian chain Quick unveiled a foie gras burger for the French market, while last year saw McDonald’s cater to French eaters who couldn’t bear the thought of eating with their hands by offering knives and forks to customers.

Plat du jour: 85 percent of French restaurants now serve burgers. /VCG ‍Photo

Western fast food giants have found similar success in China after adapting their menus to suit local tastes. However, recent years have seen a decline for burgers, fried chicken and French fries, thanks to a population more conscious of food safety, health and better quality options.

Revenue in China began to decline in 2012 for KFC and McDonald’s, while McKinsey found that 16 percent fewer people were eating Western fast food in 2015 than three years earlier. At the same time, Pew Research Center found 40 percent of consumers considered food safety as a priority in 2016, compared to just 12 percent in 2008.

Yum China, the company behind KFC, Pizza Hut and other major fast food chains, found itself in the middle of a hygiene scandal in 2014 after one of its suppliers was found to be using expired meat.

Recent food scandals involving some of the biggest Western fast food chains have seen a decline in sales in China despite rapid expansion. /VCG Photo

The China Market Research Group has also pointed to the growth of the food delivery sector as a factor behind the recent struggles for Western fast food chains, with third-party apps like Meituan Dianping and ele.me disrupting the franchise model of having complete control over deliveries and food orders.

In 2016, Yum China received a 460 million US dollar investment from Alibaba’s Ant Financial and Primavera, and put the money into developing its mobile payment sector, reflecting the massive growth in technology’s interaction with food consumption.

While France has been a very tough market for fast food to crack, China is arguably even harder to gain a foothold in, thanks to constant changes in consumer patterns and technology.