Latest news with #EggMcMuffin
Business Insider
24-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
McDonald's shuts down its spin-off, CosMc's, after less than 3 years as sales lag
McDonald's announced on Friday that it is closing its CosMc's spin-off line of Starbucks-style drink shops. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said in the company's last earnings call that drinks from CosMc's would be introduced to "hundreds of McDonald's restaurants" in the future. "In connection with this next phase of testing, we will begin closing all stand-alone CosMc's pilot locations in late June, and the CosMc's app will be discontinued," a McDonald's spokesperson told Business Insider. When it opened in 2023, CosMc's drew comparisons to Starbucks. Its menu included coffees, teas, lemonades, slushes, breakfast sandwiches, and small donut-like pastries called "McPops." In a December 2023 meeting with investors, Kempczinski said that CosMc's is a "small format concept with all the DNA of McDonald's but its own unique personality." "Its menu includes new customizable drinks, sweet and savory treats and familiar favorites such as the Egg McMuffin," Kempczinski said in the meeting. In its announcement on Friday, McDonald's said CosMc's served as a good testing ground for different new flavors, and it plans to blend the "out of this world tastes" of CosMc's drinks into "the McDonald's experience." "What started as a belief that McDonald's had the right to win in the fast-growing beverage space quickly came to life as a multi-location, small format, beverage-focused concept," the company said. "It allowed us to test new, bold flavors and different technologies and processes — without impacting the existing McDonald's experience for customers and crew." The closing of CosMc's comes as McDonald's faces its lowest sales since the COVID-19 lockdowns. US same-store sales at McDonald's declined 3.6% during the first quarter. With low-income diners pulling back their spending over the past year due to economic uncertainty, McDonald's saw even more middle-income buyers do the same during its first quarter, Kempczinski said in an earnings call.
New York Post
21-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
How McDonald's transformed the Egg McMuffin sandwich forever with just one ingredient
There's a reason McMuffins have been egg-stra tasty in recent years. McDonald's beloved Egg McMuffin has stayed pretty consistent in its recipe since its debut 50 years ago — but one ingredient swap changed the breakfast sandwich for the better. If you order an Egg McMuffin, you'll receive a sandwich consisting of a freshly cracked Grade A egg, melted American cheese, a slice of Canadian bacon, placed on a toasted English Muffin, topped with real butter. 3 McDonald's Egg McMuffin consists of egg, American cheese, Canadian bacon, all on a buttery English Muffin. McDonald's But the beloved menu item didn't always feature real butter. If you've been a McDonald's customer for over a decade, you might notice a slight change in taste, most believe a better taste, thanks to a small alteration in ingredients. 3 McDonald's celebrated the 50th anniversary of the beloved breakfast sandwich this 2015, the fast food chain stopped using liquid margarine and switched to real dairy butter. The swap came as Americans began to realize that margarine isn't as healthy as everyone once thought it was, and the artificial product doesn't compare in quality or flavor to dairy-based butter. But such a seemingly small modification was actually a supersized venture for the chain. According to The Takeout, the process of phasing out margarine and bringing in real butter to breakfast items took about six months — though many customers are lovin' it and believe it was worth it. 3 In 2015, McDonald's stopped using liquid margarine and switched to real dairy butter. Christopher Sadowski McDonald's celebrated the 50th anniversary of the beloved breakfast sandwich this year, which debuted in 1975. According to McDonald's, the Egg McMuffin was first invented in 1971 by Herb Peterson, who presented it to Ray Krock, who is widely regarded as the 'Founder of McDonald's,' as the concept of putting a diner classic, Eggs Benedict, in the palm of your hand. 'When I watched my father introduce this idea to Ray Kroc, we could not have anticipated it would become the foundation for the renowned McDonald's breakfast menu,' Peterson's son and McDonald's owner/operator David Peterson, said in a statement. 'It's been remarkable to see people embrace this innovation over the last five decades, and now we get to share that heritage with a new generation of breakfast fans.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Overpriced McDonald's Meals Frugal People Should Quit Buying in 2025
McDonald's used to be a place where you could pick up a cheap and filling meal, but fast food prices have jumped significantly in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, the price of an Egg McMuffin rose by 23%, the Filet-O-Fish by 20%, the Big Mac by 21% and the Big Mac Meal by 27%. While the chain has had reason to raise its prices, it's made it harder on everyday consumers to eat affordably. And it's impacted some menu items more than others. When you stop by McDonald's, think twice about ordering the following overpriced items. Read Next: Find Out: Price: $5.60 Ten of anything seems like a lot, but if you buy the big box of Chicken McNuggets, it's likely you won't be full when you finish it. Unlike other options, chicken nuggets just have breading and some sauce and lack the bun, vegetables, cheese and other ingredients. For a more filling chicken meal at McDonald's, opt for a Chicken Big Mac. This sandwich has two chicken patties that amount to more protein than all 10 chicken nuggets combined. It also only costs around $0.30 more. Discover More: Price: $4.59 McDonald's Filet-O-Fish consists only of a bun, a fish patty and one piece of cheese. The combination mimics the cheeseburger, which is priced much lower at $2.39. If you're OK with straying away from fish, a great alternative is a double cheeseburger. This sandwich is cheaper at $4.19, and you'll get double the amount of food with two beef patties and two slices of cheese. Price: $7.89 If you're looking for a big burger, a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon has a lot of ingredients and plenty of beef, which is a meal in itself. However, heading to Wendy's gets you a bacon, beef and cheese sandwich for less than half the price. Wendy's Son of Baconator is the exact same 630 calories but only costs $3. Price: $7.59 The Sausage McMuffin with egg can be a filling way to start your day, but paying over $7 for a sandwich isn't ideal. Choosing a different sandwich, like an Egg McMuffin for $5.43, is financially savvier. If you really crave that sausage, egg and cheese combination, head to Dunkin', where the Dunkin' Donut Sausage, Egg and Cheese is a more filling roll, offering 680 calories compared to the Sausage McMuffin with egg's 480. Also, it is only $5.59. Price: $2.20 McDonald's has several dessert options, but if you want value, you're better off going somewhere else. For example, the vanilla cone is 200 calories and costs $2.20. Burger King has a soft-serve ice cream cone that is also 200 calories but only costs $2. Editor's note: Prices are accurate as of May 12, 2025, and may vary by location. More From GOBankingRates Here's How Much Cars Made in the US Cost Compared to Mexico, Canada and China 3 Reasons Retired Boomers Shouldn't Give Their Kids a Living Inheritance 4 Grocery Items To Buy Now Before Tariffs Raise Prices This Summer 4 Affordable Car Brands You Won't Regret Buying in 2025 Sources McDonalds, 'Providing meaningful value to our fans, with a side of facts.' This article originally appeared on 5 Overpriced McDonald's Meals Frugal People Should Quit Buying in 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Overpriced McDonald's Meals Frugal People Should Quit Buying in 2025
McDonald's used to be a place where you could pick up a cheap and filling meal, but fast food prices have jumped significantly in recent years. Between 2019 and 2024, the price of an Egg McMuffin rose by 23%, the Filet-O-Fish by 20%, the Big Mac by 21% and the Big Mac Meal by 27%. While the chain has had reason to raise its prices, it's made it harder on everyday consumers to eat affordably. And it's impacted some menu items more than others. When you stop by McDonald's, think twice about ordering the following overpriced items. Read Next: Find Out: Price: $5.60 Ten of anything seems like a lot, but if you buy the big box of Chicken McNuggets, it's likely you won't be full when you finish it. Unlike other options, chicken nuggets just have breading and some sauce and lack the bun, vegetables, cheese and other ingredients. For a more filling chicken meal at McDonald's, opt for a Chicken Big Mac. This sandwich has two chicken patties that amount to more protein than all 10 chicken nuggets combined. It also only costs around $0.30 more. Discover More: Price: $4.59 McDonald's Filet-O-Fish consists only of a bun, a fish patty and one piece of cheese. The combination mimics the cheeseburger, which is priced much lower at $2.39. If you're OK with straying away from fish, a great alternative is a double cheeseburger. This sandwich is cheaper at $4.19, and you'll get double the amount of food with two beef patties and two slices of cheese. Price: $7.89 If you're looking for a big burger, a Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon has a lot of ingredients and plenty of beef, which is a meal in itself. However, heading to Wendy's gets you a bacon, beef and cheese sandwich for less than half the price. Wendy's Son of Baconator is the exact same 630 calories but only costs $3. Price: $7.59 The Sausage McMuffin with egg can be a filling way to start your day, but paying over $7 for a sandwich isn't ideal. Choosing a different sandwich, like an Egg McMuffin for $5.43, is financially savvier. If you really crave that sausage, egg and cheese combination, head to Dunkin', where the Dunkin' Donut Sausage, Egg and Cheese is a more filling roll, offering 680 calories compared to the Sausage McMuffin with egg's 480. Also, it is only $5.59. Price: $2.20 McDonald's has several dessert options, but if you want value, you're better off going somewhere else. For example, the vanilla cone is 200 calories and costs $2.20. Burger King has a soft-serve ice cream cone that is also 200 calories but only costs $2. Editor's note: Prices are accurate as of May 12, 2025, and may vary by location. More From GOBankingRates Here's How Much Cars Made in the US Cost Compared to Mexico, Canada and China 10 Cars That Outlast the Average Vehicle 4 Grocery Items To Buy Now Before Tariffs Raise Prices This Summer 6 Big Shakeups Coming to Social Security in 2025 Sources McDonalds, 'Providing meaningful value to our fans, with a side of facts.' This article originally appeared on 5 Overpriced McDonald's Meals Frugal People Should Quit Buying in 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yomiuri Shimbun
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Did Mcdonald's Price Itself out of a Segment It Dominated for Decades?
Photo and food styling by Lisa Cherkasky/For The Washington Post A McDonald's Double Big Mac and a regular Big Mac. The average price of a regular Big Mac rose 21 percent from 2019 to 2024. When Nick Martinez and his family wanted a quick, inexpensive and reliable meal, McDonald's used to be their go-to choice. Now it costs so much, he said, that he lets his 5-year-old son pick from a range of spots near their home in Colton, California, that might have seemed too pricey in the past. 'McDonald's isn't the best value anymore,' said Martinez, 50, who has three children. 'People are saying, 'Well, if I'm going to pay $5 for a fry, I'll just go to this place over here.'' McDonald's latest financial report suggests that sentiment has grown among its traditional customer base. While the company blames its disappointing first-quarter results on fewer people dining out in general, some experts suggest that budget-conscious consumers have turned to chains such as Taco Bell and Chili's for meals that they see as offering a better value. In its first quarter, McDonald's saw its worst year-over-year revenue drop since the height of the pandemic, as sales tumbled 3.6 percent for U.S. locations that have been open for at least 13 months. Visits from low- and middle-income consumers plunged by nearly 10 percent, chief executive Chris Kempczinski said last week. 'People are just being more judicious about cutting back on visits,' Kempczinski said during a call with analysts. 'We're not immune to the volatility in the industry or the pressures that our consumers are facing.' Generally speaking, the price gap between fast-food, fast-casual and sit-down restaurants has blurred, said Sara Senatore, an analyst at Bank of America. That makes it harder to justify spending more than $10 at McDonald's when a few extra dollars can buy meals at Wingstop, Shake Shack or other fast-casual restaurants that are perceived as higher quality, she said. The average price of a McDonald's menu item increased 40 percent from 2019 to 2024, which the company says tracks with the rise in its costs. The cost of the company's signature Big Mac sandwich rose 21 percent during that time, according to a company fact sheet, while the price of an Egg McMuffin and a 10-piece McNuggets Meal climbed 23 percent and 28 percent, respectively. The consumer price index rose almost 23 percent during the same period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. McDonald's price hikes have led competitors to question the chain's value. In one notable example, Chili's, which has thrived despite the struggling restaurant industry, promoted the burger on its $10.99 3 for Me menu as having 'twice the beef of a Big Mac' and urged consumers in an advertisement last year to ditch the 'tiny drive-through burger.' Chili's was a bright spot this restaurant earnings season alongside Taco Bell, with the pair notching 32 percent and 9 percent same-store sales growth, respectively. Taco Bell's lower exposure to beef inflation has helped it keep prices lower than competitors, Senatore said. The chain's value menu and new products have also helped it gain market share, she added. Meanwhile, other fast-food and fast-casual chains – including Burger King, Popeyes, Chipotle and Wendy's – joined McDonald's in reporting same-store sales declines in their most recent quarters and warned that a broader consumer slowdown could further squeeze the inflation-battered restaurant industry. But McDonald's, long seen as the fast-food industry's standard-bearer and an icon of affordable dining, is more vulnerable now because it has raised prices while offering weaker deals than rivals, analysts say. Foot traffic at McDonald's fell 2.6 percent in the first three months of this year, steeper than the overall fast-food industry's decline of 1.6 percent, according to year-over-year data from 'A lot of their base is that low-income consumer, and when prices go up and you see rapid inflation and economic uncertainty, McDonald's, in some ways, is one of the most vulnerable companies out there,' said Joseph Nunes, a marketing professor at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. Other chains such as Wendy's and Burger King also raised prices in recent years to offset inflation, Senatore said. But McDonald's trailed the rest of the fast-food industry in slowing price hikes last year as inflation cooled, she said. It wasn't long ago that McDonald's sales boomed. The chain's U.S. same-store sales spiked during the pandemic and immediately after, with an 8.7 percent increase as recently as 2023. McDonald's executives have rejected the idea that the company has lost its traditional appeal. During last week's analyst call, Kempczinski blamed the first-quarter weakness on fewer people eating out for breakfast rather than market share losses to other chains. The company anticipated its first quarter would be the toughest of the year as it promoted its new $5 value menu, Kempczinski told analysts. McDonald's expects to build momentum in the second quarter with more marketing and menu initiatives, he said. The challenging consumer environment gives McDonald's an opportunity to outperform its competitors if it strikes the right balance between marketing its value programs and menu additions, Kempczinski told analysts. 'Where we're focused right now is about making sure we do world-class execution,' he said last week. McDonald's remains relevant as a consumer brand, analysts said. But consumers make more choices based on quality and shop around for the best value, said R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at 'If things get more difficult in economic downturns, people tend to go to the brands they know and that have a reputation for being more affordable, but I think that's shifted a bit in the last couple years,' Hottovy said, adding that fast-food restaurants, in particular 'may have outpriced a lot of their consumers, and now those consumers are finding value elsewhere.' McDonald's, he said, has lost customers to fast-casual and casual restaurants while also competing more with lower prices from discount grocers, convenience stores and dollar stores, which have boomed in popularity as consumers hunt for bargains. Experts said McDonald's became a fast-food behemoth decades ago largely because of the Happy Meal, an offering for kids that includes an entrée, side, drink and toy. The burger giant attracted lower- and middle-income parents, who could feed their families for a fraction of the price of other restaurants. McDonald's built a reputation for consistency and convenience, but other chains caught up with better bargains and accessibility because of delivery, Nunes said. In a crowded U.S. restaurant market, McDonald's needs stronger food and cheaper prices to find a 'sweet spot' that appeals to cautious consumers, he said. 'In an evolving constellation of food places, where does McDonald's fit in the 21st century?' Nunes said. 'McDonald's always has and always will face a challenge of how to reinvent itself, reignite a consumer that's sort of bored with its food.' The company has done this in the past, partly through deals such as the Dollar Menu, which existed in some fashion for much of the past two decades. But restaurant inflation has made it almost impossible to reintroduce a $1 price point, leaving McDonald's to rely on viral marketing moments such as summer 2023's Grimace Shake or this past quarter's A Minecraft Movie Meal to excite consumers. Those brand partnerships work during good times, but McDonald's faces a tougher challenge when people worry about the economy. During the 2008 financial crisis, McDonald's $1 offerings helped the chain keep customers, but now that its signature sandwiches can cost more than $5 and combo meals have exceeded $15 at some franchises, the company's food no longer feels like a deal compared with competitors, Nunes said. McDonald's used to offer more nationwide price deals before inflation took off, said Gregory Francfort, an analyst at Guggenheim. The current value menu, launched in January, incorporates a $5 Meal Deal and a buy one, add one for $1 promotion that failed to catch on with consumers in the first quarter because it lacked a clear, catchy nationwide price point, Francfort said. The buy-one-add-one promotion's disappointing performance last quarter showed McDonald's that it needs to lean into its $5 value menu, Senatore added. But with most fast-food chains offering similar value meals, Martinez says he won't return to McDonald's unless its food tastes better. 'The thing that kept people coming back was their prices and consistency,' Martinez said. 'I don't see paying that much money for McDonald's as worth it. Other places are worth it, but not McDonald's.'
