The National Restaurant Association has launched KidsLiveWell.com, a mobile-optimized restaurant discovery platform that lets parents search for children's menu options verified against science-based nutrition criteria. The site's Good Food Finder surfaces participating locations by geography, giving operators a new digital channel to communicate menu value to health-conscious families. The launch arrives as 19 new brands joined the voluntary program in the past year, bringing the total participant roster to 37 chains with nearly 75,000 locations spanning quickservice, fast casual, and full-service segments.
How the Platform Works
The new site functions as a consumer-facing discovery layer for the industry's existing Kids LiveWell certification program, which has historically operated behind the scenes. Parents and caregivers navigate to the Good Food Finder, select a region, and surface a list of participating operators along with approved meal details. Each listed item has cleared third-party registered dietitian review covering calories, saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars, sodium, and servings across key food groups — fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat or meat alternatives, and whole grains. Participating brands must also default kids' menu beverage options to water, milk, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice. The digital tool effectively converts a backend nutrition-compliance workflow into a front-end marketing asset operators can point families toward.
"This new website, with an expanded roster of participating brands, makes it easier for parents and caregivers to find restaurant options that meet their family's needs when dining out," said Michelle Korsmo, President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
Operator Impact and Brand Roster
For operators, the Kids LiveWell platform represents a zero-cost digital listing in a trusted, association-backed environment — a meaningful visibility play as families increasingly scrutinize digital menu transparency and nutritional labeling before choosing where to dine. The program spans brands including Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Burger King, Wendy's, Whataburger, IHOP, Applebee's, First Watch, Panda Express, and Subway, among others. GoTo Foods brought four brands — Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky's Deli — into the program simultaneously, illustrating how multi-brand portfolio operators can use the certification to create system-wide consistency around kids' nutrition positioning.
Chief Advocacy Officer Sean Kennedy framed the expansion in a regulatory context: "Policymakers at every level are paying closer attention to the food options available to families, and the restaurant industry is meeting the moment head-on." The voluntary, industry-led model allows brands across all service formats and footprints — from single-location independents like Anna Maria Oyster Bar to national QSR chains — to participate under the same nutrition standards, audited externally by registered dietitians.
Digital Discovery as a Value-Prop Tool
The broader strategic play here is the shift from compliance program to consumer-facing digital product. Industry observers tracking loyalty, CRM, and guest-experience technology have noted that health and transparency data increasingly influence where families choose to dine — and that operators who surface nutritional credibility at the discovery stage, not just at the table, gain a competitive edge in crowded local markets. A searchable, mobile-ready platform backed by association authority gives participating brands a third-party validation signal that is difficult to replicate through brand-owned channels alone.
Korsmo positioned the tool explicitly as a value-proposition amplifier: "Dining out remains an important part of daily life and families are paying closer attention to what they order and the value they receive. Paired with this new digital tool, Kids LiveWell menu options help participating operators strengthen their value proposition and meet the needs of today's consumers." With nearly 75,000 locations now enrolled, the platform's reach already rivals some of the larger independent restaurant-discovery applications in the U.S. market.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
