Chili's introduces 'fast food financing' amid soaring meal prices
The fan-favorite grill and bar chain is stepping in with a campaign that's part PSA, part real-world solution, and all sass.
Introducing: Fast Food Financing — a two-day-only pop-up 'office' in New York City's Union Square (April 16–17), where Chili's is handing out $20 gift cards to offset the outrageous cost of fast food meals.
And if that wasn't enough, they're giving away free Big QP burgers complete with fries, bottomless chips and salsa, and an unlimited drink—all part of the value-packed 3 For Me menu.
The setup? Wild.
Guests will go through a mock loan-approval process, mimicking an actual financing office, before being 'approved' to receive their gift card (while supplies last).
Once cleared, they'll be ushered into a Chili's speakeasy for the full Big QP meal experience.
The goal? Calling out the so-called value meals of major fast food chains by offering something actually worth your money.
'We believe Chili's 3 For Me menu, starting at just $10.99, has been the best value in the industry since we introduced it in 2022, and we just made it even better with the new Big QP burger, featuring a fast food flavour profile our guests will recognise,' said George Felix, Chili's chief marketing officer.
'But for those times when you can't get to a Chili's and find yourself settling for the drive-thru, we opened Fast Food Financing to help customers in their time of need.'
The Big QP is Chili's latest burger flex, featuring 85% more beef than a Quarter Pounder® with Cheese and all the familiar flavors—American cheese, mustard, ketchup, pickles, and diced onions on deck. It joins the 3 For Me lineup alongside last year's Big Smasher, which doubled up the beef compared to a Big Mac.
Even better? Unlike most fast food spots, $10.99 at Chili's gets you a full sit-down experience with bottomless everything.
Meanwhile, McDonald's prices are creeping higher than your gas bill.
So whether you're in NYC to take advantage of the Fast Food Financing stunt or just heading to your local Chili's, the message is clear: the best value doesn't come in a paper bag—it comes with a basket of bottomless chips.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
17 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistan's exporters urge policy support to capitalise on US tariff cut
Following a significant cut in US reciprocal tariffs from 29% to 19%, Pakistani exporters have urged the government to ensure consistent policy support, competitive production costs, and easier access to raw materials to maximise the country's export potential in the American market. The development came during a meeting on US Reciprocal Tariffs chaired by Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce read on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Commerce Rana Ihsaan Afzal, Secretary Commerce Jawad Paul, senior officers of Commerce Division and Industries and Production Division, and over 30 leading exporters and SMEs from various sectors including apparel and textiles, rice, salt, surgical goods, sports goods, electronics, food and agriculture, leather, and more. During the meeting, the industrialists congratulated the government on securing one of 'Pakistan's most strategic trade wins in recent years over its regional competitors'. However, industry representatives urged the government to provide favourable and predictable policy support, aiming towards optimising the cost of manufacturing and access to the inputs to materialise the future business opportunities. The Minister of Commerce pledged the government's dedication to export-driven policies, encompassing both immediate support measures and sustained long-term strategies. He emphasised that through enhanced collaboration and decisive actions, Pakistan's export industries could achieve significant growth. All recommendations from the exporters, he added, would be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration. During the meeting, Kamal said that exporters' feedback on the opportunities provided by the tariff reduction necessitates charting a way forward to avail this opportunity and boost exports. Meanwhile, SAPM Haroon Akhtar underscored Pakistan's regional advantage and shared that the government is committed to extending maximum support to the industry to untap business opportunities arising out of the current circumstances.
Business Recorder
18 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India's ethanol drive imperils its push for edible oil self-sufficiency
NASHIK: India's drive to produce more ethanol is leading its farmers to switch away from growing oilseeds, undermining government efforts in the world's largest buyer of cooking oils to reduce costly imports. Helped by record corn and rice harvests, New Delhi is using more of the grains to make ethanol and meet its target of blending 20% of the biofuel additive with gasoline. The process, however, produces Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS), a protein-rich byproduct that is flooding the animal feed market. In India, Trump's tariffs spark calls to boycott American goods The DDGS glut is weakening demand for oilmeals, depressing oilseed prices and prompting farmers in the South Asian nation to plant more corn and rice in place of soybeans and groundnuts - despite New Delhi's push to grow more of the oilseeds to ease imports. DDGS production in India has soared some 13-fold over the past two years to an estimated 5.5 million tons by 2025, according to industry officials. 'DDGS is a pain in the neck,' said Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd, a leading soybean processor. 'Feed makers are substituting oilmeals with DDGS since it is cheaper.' The shift is visible in government sowing data. As of August 8, oilseed acreage - including soybean and groundnut - was down 4% from last year, while corn area jumped 10.5% to a record high. Madhukar Londhe, a farmer in Nashik in the western state of Maharashtra, said he had cut his soybean area to one acre from six, planting the rest with corn - which has the added benefit of providing fodder from its stalks for his five milking cows. Nearly two dozen farmers in the area that Reuters spoke to said they had made a similar switch. 'Soybean prices were too low, so I couldn't even cover my costs in the past two years. Corn did better for me last year, so I've decided to grow more of it,' Londhe said. Rising imports The reduction in oilseed planting is a concern for a country that spent more than $17 billion on edible oil imports last year and is making concerted efforts to reduce that dependence. Rising demand for fried foods and sweets by a growing and increasingly prosperous population has driven consistent growth in edible oil consumption at 3%-4% annually, said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India. Edible oil imports have climbed to 16 million tons in 2023-24 from 4.4 million tons two decades ago, making India the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils such as palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. New Delhi aims to boost domestic edible oil production to 25.45 million tons by 2030–31 from 12.7 million tons now, enough to meet 72% of projected demand, an effort that Mehta said is being hindered by the surge in DDGS supply. A New Delhi-based senior dealer with a global trading house who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak with media said he expects imports to rise above 20 million tons in six or seven years, due in part to the DDGS disruption. Given the tightening global supplies of edible oils, India's additional imports will drive prices even higher, said a Kuala Lumpur-based official with a leading palm oil-producing company. Meal glut, oil deficiency India, the No. 3 importer and consumer of crude, recently hit its goal of lifting ethanol blending in gasoline to 20%. Two years ago, before India began using corn and rice on a large scale due to short supply of its main ethanol feedstock sugarcane, its blending rate was just 12%. Even before rising ethanol production began to create excess DDGS, India struggled with surplus oilmeals. Per capita demand for animal feed is much lower than the global average as a significant portion of its 1.4 billion population is vegetarian for religious and cultural reasons and most meat-eaters do so only occasionally. That led India to export surplus oilmeals to countries such as South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh. However, oilmeal exports got tougher every year as prices rose in order to support oilseed farmers. This year, some countries that import Indian meal have committed to buying more from the U.S., meaning they will buy less from India, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading house. Ajay Jhunjhunwala, an oil miller in Lucknow in northern India, estimates that of this year's DDGS output, only around half will be consumed domestically. Exports are growing but are still relatively small. India's DDGS exports surged to 354,110 tons last year from just 16,556 tons in 2022. Distilleries are trying to export the surplus to markets including Bangladesh and Vietnam - longtime U.S. DDGS customers. Millers and distillers are pushing for incentives to facilitate exports of both oilmeals and DDGS. India's Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in July the government would support oilseed farmers by procuring their harvest at a state-fixed price. The Indian government did not respond to a request for comment on rising supplies of DDGS. 'DDGS has exaggerated the problem of surplus meal,' oil miller Jhunjhunwala said. 'Unless that problem is fixed, increasing domestic oilseed production and edible oil supplies is difficult,' he said.
Business Recorder
19 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Brazil's Lula, China's Xi discuss BRICS, bilateral opportunities
BRASILIA/BEIJING: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping have discussed the role of the BRICS group of states and bilateral business over a phone call, according to Lula's office and Chinese state media said. The leaders spoke for an hour on Monday, agreeing on the role of the G20 and BRICS in defending multilateralism,' Brazil's presidency said in a statement. 'Both presidents also highlighted their willingness to continue identifying new business opportunities between the two economies,' the statement said. Lula said last week he would initiate a conversation about how to tackle Trump's tariffs with BRICS nations, after Trump dubbed the group 'anti-American' and threatened them with additional tariffs. Xi called BRICS a key platform for building consensus in the Global South and said China is ready to work with Brazil to set an example of unity and self-reliance among major Global South nations, Chinese state media Xinhua reported. Agriculture trade features notably in China and Brazil's relations. China, the world's biggest soybean importer, gets most of the commodity from Brazil and recently, numerous Brazilian coffee companies found entry into the Chinese market after the industry was hit by steep US tariffs. China last week also showed Brazil support in resisting the 'bullying behaviour' of imposing excessive tariffs, without naming the US. Xi described ties between the two countries as 'at their best in history', and said both should work together to address global challenges and promote the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, Xinhua said.
