McDonald’s does not want the Big Mac to be its premium burger.
The chain has the most successful fast food burger of all time (sorry, Whopper), yet it endlessly wants to replace it. The Big Mac even has its own song:
“Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.”
Related: Cheesecake Factory faces truly disturbing charges
Those may not be lyrics worthy of Taylor Swift (although her song about breaking up with Mayor McCheese is excellent), but how many burgers get a song? The Whopper and the Baconator don’t have songs, yet their chains seem to accept them as their long-term premium offerings.
McDonald’s (MCD) , however, has repeatedly tried to big-time itself and add an even nicer Big Mac. The Arch Deluxe was the most epic of those failures.
Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter
The chain spent $300 million to market a burger that was somehow “for adults.” That was sort of insulting to the rest of the menu, and as you might imagine, it did not work.
In 2006 McDonald’s also tried to market “Angus Burgers,” replacing its normal beef with a slightly better product. That did not work either, as McDonald’s fans never fully accepted it, and it lingered on the menu until 2013, but was never popular.
McDonald’s adds a new premium burger
Either McDonald’s has tenacity or it’s too dumb to learn from its mistakes. The chain keeps going back to the well trying to make premium happen, no matter how many times customers reject the ideas.
“We’ve got the chicken strips, we’re getting Snack Wraps, and now McDonald’s is testing a burger that they think could be as iconic as the Big Mac — the Big Arch. This burger has expanded to additional countries in recent months (Canada, UK, and Portugal are three of them) and is a bigger burger than the Big Mac,” the popular Snackolator Instagram page shared.
Bigger has often proved better for fast-food chains, so McDonald’s may be onto something.
The Big Arch contains two beef patties, three pieces of white cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles, a new Big Arch “tangy” sauce, both fresh and crispy onions, and a brioche bun.
More Food News:
- Starbucks’ huge new rival opens first US stores
- Oldest LA restaurant permanently closing after 117 years
- McDonald’s menu brings back fan favorite nationwide
“They’ve already rolled this out to more countries, and it was announced that this is planned for a U.S. release,” according to Snackolator, who remains optimistic. “On one hand, if that sauce is good, this could be a great burger. On the other hand, I keep thinking of the Arch Deluxe because of the name.”
In Canada, the cost of the Big Arch with fries and a drink was about $9 US, just slightly more than a Big Mac meal in most markets.
Big Arch is part of something bigger
McDonald’s has been working to improve its global cooperation. That has included launching a McDonald’s global Restaurant Experience Team, designed to create products and processes for the entire world.
“First, through the new integrated structure, we’ll be able to execute faster, which means ideas can start showing up in our restaurants even sooner. We can achieve and scale cross functional product innovations like Best Burger, Big Arch, and McCrispy faster than ever before with menu, supply chain, operations, and Speedee Lab teams all in one place,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said during the chain’s first-quarter earnings call.
Related: Burger King menu adds nostalgic drink after McDonald’s backlash
This new team won’t just set up bigger burgers for global delivery. It will also help the company improve its global restaurant experience.
“It also increases our ability to develop and scale tech innovation in new ways, such as Ready On Arrival, Internet of Things enabled restaurant equipment, and Google Cloud connectivity through the eyes of a restaurant general manager to ensure they’re all working in coordination with each other,” he added.
Great Job Daniel Kline & the Team @ TheStreet Source link for sharing this story.
