Value Meals: What Can Be Learned from Major Chains

2024 was the year of the value meal. With consumers worried about inflation and high prices, many chains went all in on value meals, unveiling a range of price-driven combo deals meant to excite consumers and drive traffic back into restaurants. That was true across both limited-service restaurants (fast food, fast casuals) and many full-service restaurants (like casual chains).

So, what can we learn from restaurant chains’ head first dive into value pricing? There are lessons for nearly any foodservice operator, including non-commercial segments like healthcare and education. That’s particularly necessary as we head into 2025, a year when value meal launches don’t show any signs of slowing down. Consider some of these best practices and learnings from studying major chains across the country as well as the research into value meal pricing.

Value meals can drive traffic

At their core, most value meals launched in the past year were focused on one thing: getting customers in the door. With traffic still stubbornly soft for many operators, attractive value meal propositions were often designed to increase visitation numbers, with the lower margins (ideally) offset by that traffic increase or additional purchases.

Did it work? For some McDonald’s franchisees, the answer was yes—and they’re looking forward to the launch of the chain’s new McValue platform this year, which offers a variety of value meal offerings. “There may be a margin challenge where we are providing food at a great value, but if we can bring more people in, then it will take care of that,” one McDonald’s franchisee told Yahoo! Finance.¹

Indeed, according to IFMA The Food Away From Home Association, value meals are the most encouraging away from home traffic drivers and one of the top overall strategies that encourages consumers to eat away from home.²

It goes beyond just the price

While price is of course a core metric that consumers consider in any food purchase, let alone in a value meal, it’s not the only consideration. After all, value meals exist at a wide range of price points, with each one promising a different value equation.

When consumers consider the chains that offer a lot of value, affordability wasn’t even the top factor that correlated with it—value for the dollar was.³ In other words, it’s not that an item has to be the lowest price, but that the item is worth the price it is offered at. That can take into account many factors, including portion size, which also correlated highly with value.³

When asked which attributes increase the value of an item, 57% of consumers said price, but quality wasn’t far behind—55% called it out.⁴ Clearly that price/quality equation is the most important factor when consumers decide if an item is worth it. But they also call out a wide range of attributes: health, convenience, and uniqueness also rose to the top when it comes to value.⁴ Uniqueness is key, as over half of consumers (53%) say innovation alone increases the value of an option.⁴

Craveability is also key. In fact, for many consumers, the last time they had a “cheap bite” out at a restaurant wasn’t necessarily because it was affordable, but because they had a specific food craving—a taco, burger, hot pretzel, etc.³

It’s not always about offering the lowest price option in the market, but earning the price that an item is offered at through the right mix of attributes.

Embrace consumer value drivers

What foods do consumers think is a good value? Start with pizza. Pizza chains earn many of the highest scores on value metrics:

• The highest-rated chains in value for the dollar, affordability, and discounts/specials are all pizza chains.³

• Three of the top four chains for affordability are pizza chains.³

• Four of the top five chains that consumers said they visited last because they are affordable are all pizza chains.³

If you’re looking for a place to focus on when it comes to menu value, pizza should be a top consideration. It’s a crowd-pleasing, craveable option that offers a lot of bang for the buck in consumers’ eyes.

Keep it simple

When ranking chains on metrics like value and combo meal offerings, consumers gravitate towards brands that offer straightforward value options front and center.³ In many cases, combo or value meals may even be the default ordering option or a requirement—it’s simply how you make a meal at that concept.³ Consumers clearly respond favorably to that simplicity, when it feels like they’re getting a good value no matter how they order.

In one study, consumers were given $20 to spend on a hypothetical food experience, with over a dozen options to choose from—they could choose 20 individual dishes that cost $1 each, they could pick the largest meal they could find for the money (the most “bang for the buck”), etc. But a classic, simple option came out on top: a $20 combo that featured an entrée, side dish, and drink.

So don’t overthink it—and make sure consumers don’t have an opportunity to overthink it, either.

There’s a lot to learn from when it comes to offering value meals in a way that attracts customers while also positively impacting the bottom line. But the wealth of real-world examples and research on value meal pricing offers a path forward to ensure success.

¹ Yahoo! Finance, McDonald’s kicks off 2025 with its McValue Meal menu, sparking a fast food value competition, 2025
² IFMA, CPP 2024
³ Datassential, Chain Performance Update: Value and Affordability, 2024
⁴ Menu Matters, Consumer Need States, 2025