US love of burgers unlikely to change under Obama

America’s new president elect Barack Obama may be promising change but new research suggests he will be unlikely to influence the country’s hefty consumption of burgers.

Research from market analysts Horizons shows that the average American citizen spends $94.06 (£58.22) a year in McDonald’s, while amongst Europeans this is a relatively slimline $19.47 (£12.05).

Peter Backman, managing director of Horizons, said: “Cultural differences are the key issue and while we like burgers, we don’t like them quite as much as Americans do.

“Europe also offers a more diversified range of foods, so we have more choice in the high street.”

Backman said burger consumption has shot up in the past ten years in Ireland and Spain, although former Eastern bloc countries still lagged behind.

“When economies improve, we are most likely to see further growth for McDonald’s, and other fast food chains that take the plunge, in countries such as Poland, Hungry and the former Yugoslav republic.”

Spend per head

• The average US citizen spends $94.06 (€66.74) per year in McDonald’s – the average European spends only a third as much (€19.47)
• For Yum! Brands – Pizza Hut and KFC – the average spend per person in the US is 12 times the European figure
  

European spend per head in the Top 5 US operators

Source: Horizons

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By Chris Druce

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