McDonald's pulls the plug on CosMc's spinoff and app in two states after just 18 months
McDonald's is making some big changes. The company has announced it will be closing a specific type of diner and shutting down its app in the next few weeks. This is part of a new plan shared by CEO Chris Kempczinski to update the company's strategy.
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McDonald's opened its spinoff restaurant, CosMc's; however, just after 18 months, the food chain announced that it would close all five locations in June. CosMc's, inspired by its 1980s alien mascot and focused on quirky beverages like S'mores Cold Brew and Churro Frappé, is closing all five of its locations next month. Along with the closures, the CosMc's app will also be discontinued, ending this unique part of McDonald's business, as reported by The US Sun.
Earlier in January, the fast food chain closed down three of its CosMc's stores but was adamant that it was still growing, and with a possibility of opening even more stores. The spin-off restaurant was introduced as a rival to dominating beverage outlets such as Dutch Bros, Scooters, and Swig. However, on Friday, McDonald's announced that it will be closing down the rest of its locations and moving into a new phase.
The chain said, 'The main goal of the CosMc's test was to create a launchpad for learning for the McDonald's System– and the insights we've gathered have given us a whole new way to get closer to our fans.' They continued, 'We've learned so much, so quickly from the CosMc's test.' The company added, 'As part of this next testing phase, starting in late June, we will be closing all stand-alone pilot CosMc's locations on a rolling basis and discontinuing the CosMc's app."
Out of the closing locations, four are located in Texas and the rest in Illinois.
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The closures come shortly after McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski announced a shift in the company's strategy during a recent earnings call, signaling a new direction for the fast-food giant. He revealed, 'We have discovered some interesting learnings through our CosMc's test, which has better informed our understanding of consumers' customization preferences and interest in new, emerging beverage categories.'
The CEO explained that instead of expanding the CosMc's spinoff, McDonald's will bring its popular beverages to traditional locations. The new flavors, developed through the CosMc's 'learning lab,' will be tested at hundreds of restaurants sometime this year.
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