Applebee's plans to slim down menu
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
Even the world of notoriously high-calorie casual dining is caving to consumer demand for healthier food. Applebee's, the world's largest casual dining chain, will announce on Friday a five-year joint deal with diet giant Weight Watchers International to offer low-calorie alternatives across the menu at Applebee's.
Applebee's has a deal with Weight Watchers to offer healthier fare.
The move is expected to rock the casual dining sector and force rivals such as Chili's and TGI Friday's to respond. It signals that some of the biggest players in restaurants are serious about menu improvements — actions that might ward off legislation or lawsuits.
It's strategic marketing, too. About 75% of the U.S. adult population is "weight conscious," says a recent American Medical Association report.
"Clearly, this is all part of the whole 'Oh, my God, we have an obesity epidemic' thing," says Hope Warshaw, a registered dietitian and author of Eat Out, Eat Right. Even then, she says, "It's a very good thing for people who are watching their weight."
Tests will begin this fall, and by late 2004, a portion of the menu at all 1,500 Applebee's restaurants will be devoted to Weight Watchers entrees, appetizers and desserts. They will be jointly developed by the two and sold only at Applebee's, which is paying Weight Watchers an undisclosed fee for the rights to its name.
On the menu will be each item's "points" under the popular Weight Watchers diet system.
The move comes as Kraft recently announced plans to nutritionally improve its food. McDonald's added an entrée salad line. Frito-Lay cut trans fats from its chips. And, on Thursday, Yum Brands, parent to Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, named a chief health officer.
But Applebee's CEO Lloyd Hill says the move has been in the works for two years. "My sense is there's a real movement here toward healthier eating."
For Applebee's — a family chain that declines to list nutritional information on most menu items — the move is telling. Nutritionists say it may be the wave of the future. "Now, people who don't want a huge meal can go to Applebee's," says Janet Lowder of Restaurant Management Services. "It's doing the right thing."
Applebee's will add about 10 Weight Watchers items similar in price to regular items. They will have no connection with Weight Watchers' frozen foods sold in supermarkets, executives say.
"Our goal isn't just to take foods, strip them of calories and fat, and slap the Weight Watchers name on them," says Steve Marlowe, general manager of licensing at Weight Watchers. "We bring along knowledge of great-tasting food that's good for you."
Rivals are impressed. "I applaud what Applebee's is doing," says Richard Snead, CEO of Carlson Restaurants, owner of TGI Friday's. "We are absolutely looking at ways to do similar things."
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