new York
CNN
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McDonald’s, which has focused on modernizing its flagship products to boost sales, is rolling out a series of changes aimed at improving its signature burgers.
The buns will be softer. The cheese will be meltier. The onion will be added to the patties right on the grill. And the Big Mac sauce? There will be more of it.
“We’ve found that small changes, like adjusting our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for better cooking, have made a big difference in making our burgers tastier than ever,” Chef Chad Schafer, McDonald’s USA’s senior director of culinary innovation, said in a statement Monday. The improvements apply to the Big Mac and McDouble burger as well as the classic cheeseburger, double cheeseburger and hamburger.
The improvements were first made to burgers intended for international markets, the company said, and have already arrived in select U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix and Las Vegas. They will be available nationwide early next year.
These changes follow other improvements to key menu items.
In 2018, McDonald’s announced it would switch to fresh beef for its Quarter Pounders, a complicated decision that had a huge impact on sales. In 2021, the company launched a crispy chicken sandwich to replace previous versions—a relatively late arrival in the chicken sandwich wars, but one that seems to have resonated with McDonald’s customers.
“We’re gaining share in both chicken and beef,” thanks to improved burgers and items like the chicken sandwich, McDonald’s (MCD) CEO Chris Kempczinski said on a conference call with analysts in January. “In an environment where our guests are looking for simplicity and familiarity, our core menu items have never been more relevant,” he said. In the U.S., sales at stores open at least 13 months jumped 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 10.3% for the full year.
Focusing on promoting signature dishes rather than introducing new products is one way to streamline processes and reduce friction in the kitchen. McDonald’s has used promotions like celebrity dining platforms and the adult Happy Meal to create buzz around its signature dishes.
“Throughout 2022, some of our most successful campaign platforms brought our customers closer to key menu items,” Kempczinski said on the January call.
McDonald’s isn’t the only brand trying to improve its core offerings.
Burger King, which announced a turnaround plan for its business last year, has focused on improving the Whopper and making it more visible in advertising. In the fourth quarter of last year, the brand held Whopper training sessions for its franchisees. The brand said in February that the Whopper helped drive U.S. sales growth in the quarter.
