McDonald’s Menu Shrinks While America’s Waistline Expands
McDonald’s menu is getting a minimalist makeover of sorts. The fast food company has announced that it’s removing eight menu items and five “Extra Value Meals” from its lineup. The news comes after the company posted a 4.6 percent drop in its U.S. sales.
Items being removed from the McDonald’s menu include the classic Quarter Pounder hamburger, simplifying its quarter pounder selections from four down to just one. Three chicken sandwiches drop to one. “Our intent is to have a clearer menu board that is easier for customers to absorb,” the company said in a statement. “The tests are designed to determine what works and what doesn’t within our restaurants by considering the operational experience, customer response, price points and other important information which may inform future decisions.”
According to Quartz.com, McDonald’s menu will also include “customized burgers” and ingredients along with cooking methods will be reviewed to determine whether or not the chain will continue to use them.
“I think the future suggests that we can continue to really simplify our base menu and we all recognize that 80% of our sales are coming from a very small subset of the menu,” McDonald’s US President Michael Andres said at an investor meeting, reports Quartz.
The ever-popular Dollar Menu might also get a makeover as its offerings have increased in recent years, but continue to undercut the other items on McDonald’s menu. “We are actually taking a pretty hard look at our pricing structure as we speak. Years of anchoring the menu around $1 price points, as commodities and labor costs have increased over the years, have probably caused us to disproportionately share those cost increases with some of our core menu items, creating a bigger disparity between the price of those and the prices of some of our entry-level value items,” CFO Steven Bensen said at Morgan Stanley retail conference last month.
That may or may not be good news for McDonald’s employees who’ve been protesting, walking off the job, and demanding wage increases recently.
And for millions of Americans who still eat fast food, a leaner McDonald’s menu should mean fewer options that promote health issues like obesity and diabetes, but it’s not likely. The company plans to stick with well-established “favorites” including the Big Mac, french fries and those sugary soft drinks.
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