U.S. President Donald Trump recently held a meeting with several executives of major fast food restaurant companies, including Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM), Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), Chick-fil-A, Subway, Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR), Bloomin' Brands (NASDAQ: BLMN), McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Raising Cane's, Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), Papa Johns (NASDAQ: PZZA), and Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN).
According to reports, Trump offered support and sought the perspective of fast food leaders in light of economic and financial concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Yum Brands, one of the brands present at the meeting, is the parent company of Taco Bell. Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut, had been a Fortune 500 company for over two decades but fell in rank to 505 in 2020, now on the Fortune 1000.
When it comes to Yum Brands subsidiary Taco Bell, the popular fast food giant seems content with current restrictions to secure the health of its employees and offers insight into the hopes and challenges regarding the future of their brand and the fast food industry overall.
"We're already seeing a lot of changes in the restaurant industry in Asia that will inform how we reopen our industry in the U.S. Restaurants will have to make adjustments to seating areas, offer more sanitation options at high-frequency touchpoints and protective shields at counters so customers continue to feel safe," said Taco Bell CEO Mark King. "Team members will expect their employers to continue to provide protective gear like gloves and masks to ensure they are being taken care of, and the industry will continue to offer much less contact throughout the experience, including delivery and drive-thru. Overall, the restaurant industry will need to adapt to the needs of people in order to survive."
Many fast food and restaurant CEOs have commented recently about how things have been going lately and what we can expect from here both with the public and from a business standpoint.
For one, Tariq Farid, CEO of privately-owned Edible Arrangements, seems relatively optimistic about the changes needed internally to accommodate the pandemic and the road ahead. According to Farid, "Major changes can be implemented just as effectively by introducing them via video conferences, emails, instant messaging, etc."
Similar sentiments are echoed by Jose Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons. "We've never communicated more frequently or efficiently with franchisees and employees as we have in the last two months,"noted Cil.
Despite the difficult current circumstances and road ahead for individuals and businesses across the board, it seems that in the face of inherent challenges and struggles of the times, not all aspects of the economy are devastated or beyond repair when it comes to this industry.
In fact, "This crisis is really accelerating the future," according to King. "We will move much faster now. And we will be able to move faster because that is what the consumer is demanding, a seamless, contactless experience."