McDonald’s as teased a new set of drinks for its menu that you’ve only seen at its concept store CosMc’s.
The fast food giant is hoping to expand its drink selection for customers, and is even starting to test new ways to do this.
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Restaurant Dive reports that McDonald’s is making big moves when it comes to its drinks, even though we don’t what they will be yet.
All of it is in the testing stages, but the prospect will surely excite fans.
It all hinges on CosMc’s, the concept focused on beverages that has been tested in specific markets.
CosMc’s is still a new idea for the chain, having only sprouted a handful of spots across Texas and Chicago since 2023.
The locations offer a wide range of customizable items, from coffee and tea to energy drinks, alongside a small menu of snacks.
That idea will soon blossom into a melting pot of inspiration for McDonald’s, as the chain gets better at understanding diner customization.
As competition heats up in the sector, giving the diner the ability to choose how they eat and adapting to that is proving to be crucial.
Now, McDonald’s has announced that it is set to add more drinks to its menu in its main locations.
And the CEO believes that now might be time time to integrate this into McDonald’s barrage of complex operations.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said: “The opportunity for us is to have teams that have that degree of focus, who are waking up every single day, looking at our performance across the globe and making sure that we absolutely are winning in chicken, that we’re winning in beverages, that we’re winning in beef or continue to win in beef.
“Part of what we’ve tried to be thinking through is, how do we get after that opportunity.
“Part of the impetus for us to go do CosMc’s was a belief that if we tried to do it within an existing restaurant that the complexity may be too great and would impact speed of service.”
RISK OF CUSTOMIZATION
One of the key things that McDonald’s has taken from CosMc’s is the delicate balance between core recipes and customization.
Customers tend to prefer 80% of the in-recipe ingredients and customize the rest.
But the lesson has come from the idea that pushing more towards the complexity of customization isn’t as big of a risk as once thought.
McDonald’s has also learned to lean on the power of concept food, if it is attached to the core brand, according to Kempczinski.
Fast Food meal deals
Here are some of the current value meals offered by popular fast food joints.
Taco Bell’s $7 Luxe Cravings Box:
- Chalupa Supreme
- Beefy Five-Layer Burrito
- Double Stacked Taco
- Chips and nacho cheese sauce
- Medium drink
McDonald’s $5 Meal Deal:
- McDouble or McChicken sandwich
- Four-piece Chicken McNuggets
- Small fries
- Small soft drink
Wendy’s $5 Biggie Bag:
- Junior Bacon Cheeseburger or Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- Four-piece chicken nuggets
- Junior fries
- Small soft drink
Burger King’s $5 Your Way Meal:
- Whopper Junior, Chicken Junior, or Bacon Cheeseburger
- Fries
- Four-piece chicken nuggets
- Soft drink
He continued: “All of that is informed now.
“Let’s take that into a McDonald’s restaurant and see what an expanded lineup of beverages could look like, and let’s understand what that means in terms of driving incremental traffic, but also food attachment that goes with that.”
But foodies might not want to be racing out of the house just yet.
It has been confirmed by the CEO that more information on the beverage tests will be released later this year.
It is also important to stress that the drink flavors being tested are still unknown.
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