Nationwide fast-food chain Steak ‘N Shake has announced that they are completely embracing the whole Make America Healthy Again platform by seeking to change up its menu to include “natural, real ingredients,” such as only serving 100% cane sugar sodas. The announcement was revealed during an interview between Michael Boes, Steak ‘N Shake’s first ever chief MAHA officer, and Fox News anchor Dana Perino.
“And Steak ‘N Shake is taking another bite out of the MAHA agenda,” Perino kicked off the interview. “The fast food giant will soon start serving popular sodas made with 100% cane sugar as it moves towards simpler ingredients embraced by the MAHA movement. Let’s bring in former HHS senior advisor Michael Boes. He’s now serving as Steak ‘N Shake’s first chief MAHA officer.”
The video then cuts to show Bose and clips of the restaurant. “Okay, so tell me, what kind of what do you gain by going from whatever is the the fruit and corn syrup, the fructose to cane sugar? What’s the benefit?” Perino asked Boes.
Boes then explained that Steak ‘N Shake is on a quest to get rid of ingredients infused with chemicals and offer customers products made from natural sources. “Yeah, you know, I don’t want to get into science too much. I think the reality is, is we just want to get back to natural, real ingredients. These are things that humans have been eating for centuries before we introduce all these industrial chemicals and oils,” Boes responded.
“So we encourage Americans to not only count calories but count chemicals. So if we can reduce those, we’ll count it as a win for us,” he added. Perino then cuts to a clip of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discussing the same things that Bose mentioned, but with a little more detail.
“Added sugars, especially sugar-sweetened beverages, drive metabolic disease. And today, our government declares war on added sugar. Highly processed foods loaded with additives, added sugar, and excess salt damage health and should be avoided. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, my message is clear: Eat real food,” RFK said in the clip.
“Have you seen, you know, proof in the pudding, so to speak, when you became the chief MAHA officer and Steak ‘N Shake started making some changes? Can you actually look at results in terms of sales and people coming back to the restaurant?” Perino asked Boes. “Yeah, so we’re actually the fastest-growing fast food chain in the country right now for same-store sales, so we’re up 15% year over year,” he replied.
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“And so one of the main reasons I came here, we wanted to show that there’s an economic model to this. I think a lot of organizations out there, you know, are trying to deny the inevitable, but we saw, you know, working for my former boss there, we saw the data that the people want this, and we’re happy to deliver on that on that promise,” he told the Fox News anchor.
Perino then showed a board featuring some data to support Boes’s statement. “So I’m going to show on the board here. This is the companies that are also heading down the path, maybe not as quickly as some people would like, but there are some changes being made. And then can can you then? I know you probably look at a lot of numbers. Can you take what you’re seeing in terms of sales, and then look to either response in the MAHA movement or even health benefits?”
“Yeah, so I think for the first time ever, natural food sales had exceeded ultra processed food this past year. I believe the number was 7% My former colleague Callie Means has been on top of this. But look, the reality is, is like people want this,” Boes said, adding, ” I think it really goes true for the message of make America great again, make America healthy again.”
” It’s this ode to what the food environment was 50, 60 years ago. What my grandfather, my parents enjoyed. I think people want that. No one ever demanded these chemicals and highly processed seed oils. It was never implemented due to taste. It was profits, and we wanted to put a stake in the ground on being an American company and delivering the best food for Americans,” the chief MAHA officer for Steak ‘N Shake told Perino.
Perino then asked Boes if his company recommended folks eat smaller portions. “Yeah. Look, you know, we actually have a thin burger, but we also believe in freedom of choice. But you know, not to go down a rabbit hole here, but I think when you remove a lot of these additives, it actually helps with the satiety of the food that you’re eating. So you actually feel fuller on less food when you remove a lot of these chemicals,” he concluded.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video