USA, — One fast-food chain reigned supreme on social media this year.
New data revealed the most Instagram-worthy fast-food chain in the U.S. is McDonald's, based on a breakdown of Instagram data to determine popularity.
The research was conducted by restaurant furniture experts Affordable Seating, which analyzed more than 26 million posts featuring restaurant-specific hashtags for America’s most popular fast-food chains.
McDonald's announced it would do away with its well-known, red and yellow cafeteria look in 2016, and has undergone a series of renovations since then that saw most buildings remodeled into a standardized, uniform look.
The golden arches and vibrant color schemes still appeared in 8.8 million posts, although non-standard locations still hold a massive appeal, with entire accounts dedicated to the kitsch and nostalgia of McDonald's of yesteryear. Nonstandard McDonald's is an account dedicated to documenting the weird and wacky McDonald's from around the world, and boasts more than 149,000 followers who delight in quirky buildings.
Some McDonald's across the world have drawn cult followings for their eccentric building designs, which include the Rue Saint-Lazare location in Paris....
or the one located in Fuzhou, China's SanFang QiXiang neighborhood.
Coming in second? KFC with 4.2 million posts, while the third most popular chain is Burger King with a total of 2.2 million Instagram posts.
In fourth place is Pizza Hut with the restaurant also appearing in 2.2 million posts. The company compiling the data credited Pizza Hut's popularity to their warm, low lighting and comfortable booths.
Chipotle came in fifth place with 1.7 million posts, with analysts crediting a neutral color palette and natural materials as creating a dynamic background for social media snaps.
Sixth place is taken by Taco Bell with 1.5 million posts, followed by Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger, Chuck E. Cheese and Five Guys.
