McDonald's is Beefing Up Its Range with a Meatier Mac
November 04 2015 - 06:57AM
Dow Jones News
By Saabira Chaudhuri
McDonald's Corp. is pushing upscale in the U.K., launching a
brand of burgers with thicker patties as it aims to thwart growing
competition from rivals like Byron and Shake Shack Inc.
The company on Wednesday said the new "premium" range of burgers
will be made entirely from British and Irish beef and served in
black packaging with accompanying fries served in match cartons.
The burgers, priced at about GBP4.69 alone--or GBP6.19 for a
meal--will be sold on a trial basis starting Wednesday in London,
the Southeast and Manchester. From next summer they'll become a
permanent item on menus at about 400 restaurants across the
country.
Waiting times for the new burgers will be slightly longer than
for other burgers, said the company, as the new patty takes longer
to cook.
McDonald's said if current trials prove successful it could try
a host of other things, like allowing customers to customize
classic burgers, order and pay by smartphone, charge smartphones
using wireless charging devices and play interactive tabletop games
while they eat.
The new burger effort has been spearheaded by U.K. Food
Development Director Duncan Cruttenden and comes after McDonald's
in April said it was adding premium sirloin burgers to its U.S.
menu for a limited time.
The company's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook has been working
to improve the burger chain's food quality, customer experience,
employee benefits and brand image. The efforts seem to be paying
off in its core U.S. market, with McDonald's last month reporting
the first quarterly increase in two years sales at U.S. restaurants
open at least 13 months.
In the U.K., burger and chicken restaurants have faced increased
competition from a slew of other dining options, with research firm
Mintel last year projecting a decline in customers aged 20 to 24
years, which will challenge these outlets over the next five
years.
McDonald's has previously set a target to open 40 new
restaurants in the U.K. each year, starting last year. The company
has a strong lead over the U.K. fast food market, according to
Mintel, with just over half of Brits saying they had used the brand
in the three months to May 2014, the same figure as user numbers of
Burger King and KFC combined.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 04, 2015 06:42 ET (11:42 GMT)
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