Australians are beginning to notice that eating at a pub is cheaper or the same as eating fast food, so what’s the difference?
Fast food has always been viewed as one of the cheapest ways of eating out, but that seems to no longer be the case as price gouging continues to keep the prices of fast food high. Australians are beginning to notice that they can get a higher quality experience at a pub for roughly the same price as getting a meal at Mcdonald’s or KFC.
“Where I live, it is now officially cheaper to buy lunch at the pub than McDonald’s,” a Reddit user from the NSW Hunter Valley posted this week. The thread sparked further discussion on the high prices of fast food.
On average, a large burger combo at Macca’s, KFC, Hungry Jack’s, and Red Rooster all cost over $12.
“Pretty much all the pubs in town do $14 lunch specials … served on a plate with proper cutlery,” the Reddit user continued.
Prices at Hungry Jack’s and Red Rooster are similar, if not more expensive. The large Whopper burger at Hungry Jacks is $13.10, the Baconator Deluxe is $15.25, a Baconator Jack’s Fried Chicken burger is $17.25, a Reds burger combo at Red Rooster is $14.50.
A Hungry Jack’s spokeswoman said there were “several factors” that influenced pricing but did not specify. It’s most likely because the real reason wouldn’t be very good pr for the corporation, and that’s because the reason is corporate greed.
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Macca’s gross profits have been consistently rising, despite a dip in 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021 the company reported a gross yearly profit of $12.58 billion, its highest ever. The increases in profit aren’t stopping there either, as the company is on track to surpass the 2021 total, raking in more in the first three quarters of 2022 than they did over the same period in 2021.
Given the average of their first three quarters and extrapolating that to the final quarter of the fiscal year, the company is on pace to pull in $13.06 billion gross in 2022.
Despite resorting to lowering the quality of food, as we saw KFC Australia do earlier this year with the switch to cabbage, these companies continue to increase their profit while blaming increased prices on “inflation” and “supply chain issues.”
“The company works collaboratively with its supplier network to deliver great value and prices consistent with current operating costs,” the Hungry Jack spokesperson said.
McDonald’s chimed in with a lie of their own: “Like all businesses, we review menu prices from time to time and consider several factors, including the higher-cost environment we are operating in.”
Poor little Macca’s— the multi-billionaire dollar company that can’t afford the “higher-cost environment” despite magically increasing their profits at the same time.
