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Greg Creed spent 25 years at Yum Brands, including more than a decade in leadership roles at Taco Bell, before he retired from the company in 2020. He offered this unsolicited advice after a rough quarter for McDonalds, in which same-store sales fell over 3%, the companys worst drop since the pandemic. The problem, Creed asserts, is that McDonalds isnt chasing menu options that its customers will crave. And without a menu that elicits a strong reactioneither positive or negativefrom diners, McDonald’s is just being beige. Nothing as a brand is worse than being beige, Creed wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. It upsets no one, but lets be honest: No one loves beige. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/Expedite-Icon-E-white-background.jpg.jpg","headline":"Expedite","description":"Restaurant technology and the big ideas shaping the future of hospitality, by Kristen Hawley. To learn more visit expedite.news","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.expedite.news\/","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} In the companys first-quarter earnings report, McDonalds CEO Chris Kempczinski cited uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions as reasons for the sales slump. Traffic to McDonalds fell more than expected, even as the company leaned into its value messaging. Still, McDonalds has raised prices as inflation persists. Were not immune to the volatility in the industry or the pressures that our consumers are facing, Kempczinski said. Comparatively, though, Taco Bell is killing it. In the first three months of the year, sales are up 9%. Traffic is up too, regardless of customer income. These numbers were a bright spot for Yum Brands, also the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, which reported mixed results in the first quarter. I know this is a tough operating environment for everybody else in the industry, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs said during his companys recent earnings call. It just is probably an environment that favors Taco Bell, and thats what youre seeing there, firing on all cylinders. From his position on the outside, Creed can only speculate on whats happening. But his hunch is Taco Bells success comes from its willingness to aggressively push new menu items, like its crispy chicken nuggets, a former limited-time offering that just made it onto the menu for good. Its not that McDonalds cant innovate, Creed says, its that the companys structurewhere he guesses operators have more input on menu items than the marketing departmentis slowing it down. I always thought of McDonalds as an operating company, Creed said via email. Whereas I used to say when I ran Taco Bell, that we are a marketing company that just happens to sell Mexican-inspired food. Process aside, Kempczinski expects McDonalds fortune to turn. Like Taco Bell, its adding more fried chicken to the menu with this weeks nationwide launch of fried chicken tenders called McCrispy Strips, and plans to lean hard on its value offerings to reach a stretched consumer. The biggest co-sign of Creeds analysis, though, comes from current Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant. In response to Creeds LinkedIn screed, he wrote: Nuggets (pun intended) of gold, Greg. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/Expedite-Icon-E-white-background.jpg.jpg","headline":"Expedite","description":"Restaurant technology and the big ideas shaping the future of hospitality, by Kristen Hawley. To learn more visit expedite.news","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.expedite.news\/","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. The speed and breadth of the changing political/cultural status quo in the U.S. has been breathtaking and disorienting for brand leaders across the tech/business community. Some leaders have gone all in to kiss the ring of the new status quo. Many more are wrestling with the question How do I continue to support the ideals my brand believes in without causing serious self-sabotage? This article is intended as a conversation starter, not a neat solution, and is informed by decades of experience of building the most influential brands as well as a series of 2025 interviews with leading founders. It puts forward a set of three principles and concrete actions to help leaders get on the front foot again. 1. Rebrand initiatives for minimum drama, maximum impact Inspiration: The rebranding of progressive finance We can learn from the example of the progressive finance community, which is in the process of rebranding its entire category, swapping trigger words such as ESG for terms like energy security. Surveying fund managers and analysts, the FT noted, The new world of sustainable investment will have a greater focus on energy transition, better regulation, and less virtue signalingESG as a synonym for sustainable investment is likely to disappear but the trend, in its revamped form, will continue. This is a great example of reframing language to focus on the nondebatable goal of ensuring our energy suppliers resilience, no matter what your view on the causes and speed of climate change. 2. Stick to your values, but focus on outcomes: The Flo Health approach Flo Health, a leading womens health app, successfully navigated the post-Roe v. Wade landscape by focusing on science-backed healthcare outcomes rather than political rhetoric. Instead of engaging in ideological debates, the company stayed true to its missionimproving womens healthby highlighting established medical research demonstrating the negative impact of restricted reproductive care. This wasnt just talk; it sparked tangible innovation. Flo Health introduced Anonymous Mode, a game-changing feature that allows users to track their menstrual cycles without fear of their data being misused. The move resonated deeply with users, addressing concerns about digital privacy at a time of heightened vulnerability. The results speak for themselves. By keeping the focus on action rather than controversy, Flo Health experienced a 55% surge in paid subscribers, solidifying its position as Europes first femtech unicorn. In the U.S., the app has become an essential tool for reproductive health, with an estimated 40% of women who were trying to conceive, relying on it. Flo Healths approach underscores a key lesson: Brands can stand by their values and drive meaningful impact without performative statements, earning both community trust and business success. 3. Adopt an adaptive Day One mindset focused on current needs over historical wrongs This mindset has long been advocated by innovative CEOs, treating each day as if its the first, willing to let go of the past with a focus on excellence and opportunity. I believe that now is the time for brand leaders to apply the same lens in a new world with a new set of rules. Reduce talk of correcting historical injustices and focus more on actions that drive the maximum benefit for the majority of people. Example: Rockets blockbuster Super Bowl activation Rocket, a leading provider of mortgages in the U.S., returned to the Super Bowl in 2025 with a goal to unite a divided nation around the principle that everyone deserves a shot at home ownership. The campaign was intentionally crafted to find common ground from the choice of music (one of the U.S.s most beloved country tracks) to representative, authentic casting from young families to veterans, to the topic with 94% of Americans believing that homeownership is part of the American dream. With two million people visiting Rocket.com within an hour and the largest brand lift of any Super Bowl advertiser, the impact illustrates the power of the approach with feedback showing that people from both sides of the political spectrum saw themselves in it. Final word Navigating this complex landscape requires courage and a commitment to acting with intention, orienting towards inclusive solutions over rallying against partisan problems. There is no one-size-fits-all formula but adopting a Day One mindset offers a way forward where values drive decisions but outcomes drive communications. A blend of purpose and pragmatism to achieve maximum impact with minimum drama. The examples above illustrate how this strategy can yield significant benefits, from strengthening community trust to driving commercial success. Were all writing the new playbook for purpose-driven performance in real time, and I remain stubbornly optimistic that this evolution will, over time, elevate the industrys ability to create lasting cultural and business impact Neil Barrie is cofounder and global CEO of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand.
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E-Commerce
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. While virtual doctor visits were available prior to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic kicked them into overdrive: From 2018-2022, the percentage of American hospitals offering telehealth jumped over 14% to 86.9%. In 2021, McKinsey reported that the use of virtual care had stabilized at 38 times higher than before the pandemic. That same year, 85% of doctors offered it and 37% of adults surveyed had used it in the past year. In less than a decade, telehealth has gone from care alternative to industry staple. But with patients and providers increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of care, is this a positive development? It can be. As the CEO of Sollis Health, a 24/7 concierge medical membership, Ive seen how telehealth can be leveraged alongside features like premium tech-based services, healthcare personalization, and powerful proactive care to prioritize patient experience, support providers, and boost health outcomesbecause high-tech and human-centered dont have to be mutually exclusive. Premium tech-based services More than ever, time is a luxury for both patients and healthcare providers: Patients are waiting longer for care while overworked providers are slowed down by administrative burdens and staffing shortages. This lack of time contributes to burnout on both sides, with a 2022 poll revealing that fewer than half of Americans feel that the healthcare system is generally handled well. On the provider side, a 2024 survey showed that 48.2% of physicians reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout. Tech-based services could help fill these gaps, alleviating these pressures on both sides. AI is just one example. By automating administrative tasks, streamlining preventive care, and even playing a role in diagnosticslike reading MRIs or X-raysa smart rollout of AI could free providers to spend more intentional time with patients while making care more efficient and effective by finding cancer sooner and making precision medicine more comprehensive. Healthcare personalization Women are more likely to die from heart attacksand yet, because of medical biases, they are also more likely to be misdiagnosed. While a one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare has long been the norm, care that tailors medical treatments and interventions to the unique needs of individual patients not only improves health outcomes, but streamlines them, too. From simply making sure patients are comfortable before, during, and after exams, to providing access to wearables like Zio patches, targeted cancer diagnostics, and seamless care navigation, personalized healthcare can save time and money by enhancing prevention and refining diagnostics. It can also improve engagement and compliance: Healthcare strategies specifically tailored to an individuals needs makes patients feel more understood and cared for overall. Powerful proactive care Youre probably already familiar with preventive care, which research shows could reduce premature cancer deaths by about 40%. Proactive care broadens preventive cares reach by deepening the connection between patients and providers with more and better communication while encouraging traditional preventive measures like health education, lifestyle changeslike quitting smoking or balanced eating habitsand screenings for conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Unfortunately, in the United States only slightly more than half of recommended healthcare interventions are provided during the course of normal care, often due to a lack of time. Technological advances in preventive care have so much to offer, especially in terms of access. Thanks to the time-savings of telehealth, AI-driven diagnostics, app-based medical education and care, wearables, and more, proactive care becomes more accessible to those who need it, including at-risk patients, patients managing chronic conditions, and others who would benefit from the convenience of higher-tech care. The future of healthcare is human-centered Finding solutions to a healthcare system thats become too complex, transactional, and onerous doesnt mean ignoring technologies like telehealthit means striking the delicate balance between the human touch and the cutting edge. Whether its as simple as a warmer bedside manner or as advanced as AI-driven predictive analytics, human-centered healthcare is not just possible, but necessary, in this evolving landscape. Brad Olson is CEO of Sollis Health.
Category:
E-Commerce
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