Burger King, Starbucks aim menu changes at young customers

By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Don't expect to see Starbucks advertising double-chocolate lattes on the Disney channel any time soon. But the coffee-house giant did say Wednesday it is reviewing its inventory of food and beverages and deciding how to market them to children and their parents.And don't expect Burger King to retire the Whopper. But the fast-food giant (BKC: news) promised Wednesday to offer more nutritional meals for children including flame-broiled Chicken Tenders and fresh-cut apples that look like real fries.

The moves by both companies come in a period of increased scrutiny by Congress and public-interest groups of marketing and advertising aimed at children and also at a time when the nation is in the midst of a growing debate over childhood obesity. Read more.

In the case of Burger King, the Miami-based fast-food chain said it will set stringent nutritional guidelines for targeting children younger than 12 by limiting advertising for Kids Meals to those with no more than 560 calories per meal. The marketing also will be restricted to featuring meals in which fewer than 30% of the calories come from fat and no more than 10% from saturated fat or from added sugars. None of their advertising to children will push food with trans fats.

Chief Executive John Chidsey said Burger King also will come out with more nutritionally balanced options for children through innovative food and beverage products. The moves, he said, "will ensure that our menu remains relevant to all our customers."

Meanwhile, Starbucks Corp. (SBUX: news) aims to stay relevant to all its customers as its reviews its policy of marketing to children.

Starbucks spokesman Brandon Borrman said Wednesday that the company is taking a "top-to-bottom look" at what's on the menu, what types of serving portions are available and how they might tweak those for the small fry and their older siblings.

Kids hanging out
Most Starbucks patrons already know this: Children of all ages are in the stores, and sometimes they're a tad loud. Many are with their parents, drinking what one barista called "babychinnos" -- steamed milk in a tippy cup. Moreover, there's a growing number of elementary and high school youth looking to Starbucks as an alternative hang out to the neighborhood shopping centers or fast-food restaurants. They meet their friends there, do their homework and listen to and even buy music.

Starbucks says it will recognize that -- a major policy shift from insisting it would never market to kids -- and then determine what's the appropriate path it should take to tap into the market. It's also looking at where it places kid-friendly merchandise like its branded line of teddy bears so that they're in the sight line of the parents who purchase them rather than the kids who will insist on having one.

"The reality of it is that we are finding ourselves with a statement that simply said we don't market to children and our customers were telling us that we do," Borrman said.
"We're not looking at ways to market to children. We want clear policies for ourselves and for the public to understand what we will and won't do," Borrman said. "Parents come in with kids and we want them to make the purchasing decisions, not the kids."

That could result in menu items beyond steamed and chocolate milk or steamed apple cider for children. "We're looking at and saying what are the appropriate products and where do we place those in the stores," he said.

That's a fine line for a restaurant chain that has long touted itself as a safe and quiet haven for leisurely afternoons.

But Starbucks insists that it's not straying from its roots. And if it does, Borrman said, its customers aren't afraid to let them know. "The relationship between our customers and their baristas is strong and immediate," he said. "We will hear from them right away."

Jennifer Waters is a MarketWatch reporter, based in Chicago.