new york
CNN
—
McDonald’s, which has concentrated in revamping its core items to boost sales, it’s rolling out a series of changes aimed at improving its signature Burger.
The buns will be softer. Cheese, better. The onions will be added to the meatballs right on the grill. And the Big Mac sauce? There will be more.
“We’ve found that small changes, like adjusting our process to get the cheese hotter and more melted and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, have made a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever.” said chef Chad Schafer, senior manager. of culinary innovation of McDonald’s USA, in a statement on Monday. The updates apply to the Big Mac and the McDouble burger, as well as the classic cheeseburger, double cheeseburger and hamburger.
The improvements were first made to the burgers in international markets, the company said, and have already arrived in some US cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas. They will be available nationwide by early next year.
The changes follow other improvements to key menu items.
In 2018, McDonald’s announced that it would switch to fresh beef for Quarter PoundersA complicated movement with a large sales profit. In 2021, this one launched a crispy chicken sandwich to replace previous iterations—a relative latecomer to the chicken sandwich wars, but one that seems to have resonated with McDonald’s customers. .
“We’re gaining market share in both chicken and beef,” thanks to improved burgers and items like the chicken sandwich, McDonald’s said.
(MCD) CEO Chris Kempczinski during an analyst call in January. “In an environment where our customers are looking for simple and familiar items, our menu staples have never been more relevant,” he said. In the US, sales at stores open at least 13 months rose 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 10.3% for the full year.
Focusing on promoting core menu items rather than introducing new items is a way to keep processes simpler and reduce friction in the kitchen. And McDonald’s used promotions like celebrity dining platforms and the adult Happy Meal to create buzz around his signature elements.
“Throughout 2022, some of our most successful campaign platforms have brought our customers closer to core menu items,” Kempczinski said during the January call.
McDonald’s isn’t the only brand trying to improve its core offerings.
Burger King, which last year announced a he plans to change his business, focused on improving the Whopper and making it more visible in advertising. In the fourth quarter of last year, it organized Whopper trainings for franchisees. The brand said in February that the Whopper helped boost U.S. sales that quarter.