Product Profile: Sonic
INDUSTRY
food
Category
chain restaurants
product Profiled
Sonic restaurants
H-Score
30
ranked 19th of 25 within the food industry
ranked 60th of 76 overall
product description
Sonic is a chain of fast food restaurants, estimated to have over 3,500 outlets across the US.(1) It serves meals throughout the day and evening, offering consistent menus throughout the US. Sonic serves hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn chicken, onion rings, tater tots, and other items.
product use
Customers can purchase food by ordering at the counter, at a drive-thru window (where available), or via a website or app. Customers can also have Sonic food delivered via a delivery service such as DoorDash, Grubhub or Uber Eats. Customers can eat inside the restaurants or take their meals away.
who’s affected
Sonic’s target market includes the general population. Sonic’s restaurants can be found in a variety of communities with menu prices accessible to individuals of all household income levels.
influence on health-related behaviors
EATING
slight to moderate negative influence
Sonic serves fast food, which, broadly speaking, can be unhealthy. Researchers have found 70% of meals served at fast food restaurants (not specific to Sonic) to be of poor nutritional quality.(2)
In Building H’s analysis, Sonic was found to have a modified Restaurant Nutrition Quality (RNQ),(3,4) score of 0.60. Of the 11 chain restaurants in the Index, the range of modified RNQ scores was 1.65 (best) to 0.50 (worst). Sonic’s score placed it 10th highest of the 11 restaurant chains we profiled. In addition, in a 2021 study that calculated the RNQ for over 500 chain restaurants, Sonic’s RNQ placed it in the 19th percentile (higher is better).
In terms of calories, a sample of featured breakfast meal combos averaged 892 calories, representing 2.6 times the recommended calories for women at breakfast and 2.0 times the recommended calories for men at breakfast.(5) For their standard menu, featured meal combos averaged 1,103 calories, or 2.0 times the recommended calories for women at lunch, 1.5 times the recommended calories for men at lunch, 1.7 times the recommended calories for women at dinner, and 1.3 times the recommended calories for men at dinner. Approximately 10-15% percent of Sonic’s sales take place during the breakfast hours, 35-45% percent during lunch hours and 35-45% percent during dinner hours with the remaining sales happening late at night.(6)
Sonic’s website includes cross-selling tactics, such as suggesting add-ons or combos during the ordering process, to encourage customers to increase their purchase value by buying sides and drinks.(7)
- Feature healthier items more prominently in menu presentation and in recommendations.
- Highlight healthy modifications or substitutions whenever possible.
- Set default options of customizable meals to the healthiest options available.
- Offer reduced portion size options.
- Enable users to set preferences for calorie limits and/or how healthy they want their diets to be and then tailor their ordering experience and recommendations accordingly.
- Do not recommend additional items after users pass a reasonable calories per person level.
PHYSICAL ACTVITY
slight to moderate negative influence
One way in which restaurants contribute to physical activity is how people arrive at them. Restaurants in walkable locations are more likely to get customers to walk or bike to them than restaurants located in car-dependent neighborhoods. Building H reviewed a sample of Sonic locations and found that 54% were in either “most walkable” (20%) or “above-average walkable” (34%) neighborhoods. Forty-six (46) percent were in “below-average walkable” neighborhoods, using the US EPA’s National Walkability Index.(8)
An additional factor that affects physical activity is Sonic’s drive-in service, which enables customers to obtain meals without ever leaving their cars. All of the Sonic locations Building H reviewed had drive-in service available.(9)
- Reduce emphasis on drive-in service.
- Consider neighborhood walkability and bikeability when selecting new locations.
Sleeping
slight negative influence
Studies have shown that eating within three hours before bedtime increases the likelihood of sleep disruption.(10)
Sonic locations are typically open until 11:00 pm or 12:00 am. Based on Google data about a sample of locations, it appears that approximately 10% of Sonic’s activity takes place after 9:00 pm.(11)
Note that late night eating does not necessarily result in eating shortly before bedtime or extending into people’s sleep windows as there is diversity in daily schedules (due to reasons such as shift work).
- Reduce late night hours.
- Discourage ordering of caffeinated drinks in the evening.
Engaging Socially
slight negative influence
Eating in a restaurant can be a social experience, especially when one eats with family or friends. It is not clear how many of Sonic’s customers eat in groups.
A Building H analysis of Google data shows that the typical amount of time spent at less than 10% of Sonic locations was at or above 20 minutes. This may suggest that many customers are staying to eat at these locations, while most customers at the majority of Sonic restaurants are not staying to eat in the restaurant.(12)
Drive-in service and delivery service would typically involve less social interaction. Building H reviewed a sample of Sonic locations and found that 100% offer drive-in service. It is not clear what proportion of orders are either delivered or taken to go.
- Focus on the dine-in experience in order to encourage more customers to eat in the restaurants.
- Ensure adequate seating for eating in.
- Add communal tables as seating options.
- Limit kiosk or app-based automated ordering in order to promote more interaction among staff and customers.
- Facilitate family style meals for both in-person dining and delivery or take-out orders.
- Train outdoor servers and counter staff to create moments of connection in their interactions with customers.
Getting Outdoors
neutral influence
Providing outdoor seating can positively influence the amount of time that customers spend outdoors. Building H reviewed a sample of Sonic locations and found that 97% offer outdoor seating.
The walkability of restaurant locations can influence the amount of time customers spend outdoors. The more walkable, the more likely it is that customers walk or bike to and from the locations and thus spend time outdoors. As noted above, 54% of Sonic's locations were in either “most walkable” or “above-average walkable” neighborhoods, while 46% were in “below-average walkable” neighborhoods.
The availability of drive-in service can similarly influence outdoor time by affecting the likelihood of walking or biking. Nearly all Sonic locations have drive-in service.
- Offer outdoor seating at more restaurants.
- Create robust outdoor play areas for families.
Notes
Based on 2023 data. See Sonic Restaurants Near You. Sonic website, accessed July 2023.
Junxiu Liu et al. Quality of Meals Consumed by US Adults at Full-Service and Fast-Food Restaurants, 2003–2016: Persistent Low Quality and Widening Disparities. The Journal of Nutrition. Volume 150, Issue 4 (April 2020), pp. 873–883.
Iris Liu et al. A continuous indicator of food environment nutritional quality. MedRxiv. November 26, 2021.
The RNQ is based on the ratio of nutrients recommended by dietary guidelines, e.g. protein and fiber, to ingredients whose consumption should be restricted, such as sugars, sodium and saturated fats, for the median menu item. Building H modified the RNQ by selecting the most featured breakfast and lunch/dinner menu items and weighting them by relative popularity of the breakfast items and items sold at lunch or dinner. (To determine relative popularity of breakfast items and items sold at lunch or dinner, Building H examined data on customer traffic at different times of day for a sample of restaurants.)
Based on a Building H review of the most featured meal combos in September 2023, as compared with federal data on how Americans distribute their calories across meals (see Eliana Zeballos et al. Frequency and Time of Day That AmericansEat: A Comparison of Data From the AmericanTime Use Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. USDA Economic Research Service, Technical Bulletin Number 1954. July 2019) and federal dietary guidelines for moderately active adults (see U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. December, 2020, p. 140).
Based on a Building H review of Google’s “popular times” data for a sample of 50 randomly selected Sonic locations. July 2023.
Sample online order via sonicdrivein.com. October 10, 2023.
Based on a random sample of 50 US locations. For the National Walkability Index, see U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. National Walkability Index: Methodology and User Guide. June 2021.
Based on a Building H review of Google data for a random sample of Sonic locations. July 2023.
Nicola Chung et al. Does the Proximity of Meals to Bedtime Influence the Sleep of Young Adults? A Cross-Sectional Survey of University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Volume 17, Issue 8 (April 14, 2020), p. 2677.
Based on a Building H review of Google’s “popular times” data for a sample of 50 randomly selected Sonic locations. July 2023.
Based on a Building H review of Google’s data on how much time people typically spend at a location for a random sample of Sonic locations. July 2023.