Fruity Goodness!

This blog post is dedicated to a recent craze which are smoothies! They are literally everywhere, from your innocent smoothies in the supermarket, to newest smoothie and shake bar in your local high street.

This blog post was inspired by Mcdonald's jumping on the smoothie bandwagon, just proving that the country is going health crazy! Since the mass marketing campaign to increase awareness of consuming your 5 a day, I believe consumers have become far more concious of a healthy lifestyle. A smoothie is a fantastic way to get at least 3 of your 5 a day and as people in general lead a busier lifestyle, there is no wonder why it has become the latest trend.

I think its great that fast food takeaways are acknowledging that health content is more important than offering the fattiest and tastiest oily food they used to sell. However, it has to be questioned is this because they CARE about their consumers and the increase in levels of obesity, or is it simply a question of reacting to consumer demands to increase their revenues. Personally, I think it is because McDonald's have felt the pressure of increased health awareness, with the increased popularity in fast food restaurant such as nandos and burrito bars, which use fresh ingredients.

In addition, this is more apparent as despite McDonald's being considered a GLOBAL brand, they adapt their strategy to each country. For example, in France they serve wine, in China they serve noodles and in America they serve extra large portions. Which I had first hand experience a few years ago in New York, when I ordered a chicken nugget meal and astonishingly received 20 chicken nuggets.... Therefore, making McDonald's an international brand which adapts their market offering to obtain larger revenues and to widen their target audience across the globe. Making their attempt to appear more en par with healthier food producers, as just a marketing attempt to appear more health concious, so as to not loose market power as consumers trends and tastes are becoming more aware.

I would suggest that if you want a smoothie, then a more legitimate smoothie would be from a smoothie shop or the supermarket, or even better make your own. You could make a smoothie to start the day with 4/5 pieces of fruit and mix it with natural yoghurt, which is low in fat and some natural fruit juice. It is truly delicious and a very substantial, fresh and healthy way to start a day and eating your 5 a day would already be ticked off the list.

Thanks for reading, caio for now xoxoxoxox