Popular Wendy’s menu item gets a challenge from McDonald’s.
mcdonald’s (dcm) – Get a free reportthe world’s largest fast food chain by sales, and keeping that title is a hell of a job. McDonald’s arguably has the best fountain of Coke you can find anywhere.
McDonalds also has what some would say are the best fries you can get from any fast food chain. Seeing a commercial for McDonald’s French fries can almost make your mouth water even without ‘smell-ivision’.
As an industry leader, most other fast food chains look to McDonald’s business strategies when looking to make improvements. So when McDonald’s makes a menu change, it usually goes for it and shares the news everywhere. So what happens when McDonald’s doesn’t make a big deal out of something new? What does that mean?
Image source: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
McDonald’s adds a new menu item
McDonald’s knows a thing or two about creating revenue, but revenue is nothing without a proper margin. McDonald’s may be taking a page out of another fast food playbook by adding a classic lemonade to its drink menu. It may not sound like a big deal, but Wendy’s fast food hamburger chain (WEN) – Get a free reporthas been serving delicious lemonade, and it has been selling very well.
In 2022, Wendy’s Strawberry Lemonade ranked #1 in Food Kitchenfor the best lemonade in the fast food chain. It was also rated No. 1 by the Odyssey in Lifestyle for Best Lemonade From a Fast Food Restaurant, in 2018. Clearly, with at least two No. 1 rankings, Wendy’s must make good lemonade.
So why wouldn’t McDonalds go after Wendy’s lemonade sales? No kidding, fast food drink margins are high, so if one was looking for a way to increase profits, drink menu deals would be a good start.
McDonald’s new classic lemonade is made with real lemon juice, real cane sugar and has bits of real lemon pulp. This classic drink knows that summer is on its way. Prices can vary, but a small starting price is $1.49, and you can get medium and large sizes too. The lemonade will be available in the store, drive thru, through the McDonald’s app and through McDelivery, according to the fast food stall. The classic lemonade is not yet available nationwide. Only time will tell if the classic lemonade will make its way to all McDonald’s locations.
This lemonade sounds a bit more hands-on than just using the fountain machine. The more ‘handy’ a menu item is in the fast food industry, the more it reduces profit margins. Therefore, the goal may not be to chase profit margins. Perhaps the goal is to unseat Wendy’s as seller of the best-tasting lemonade with spring just around the corner.
McDonald’s at its best
McDonald’s Coke Fountain has been tested and proven to be better than everything else. How does McDonald’s do it, the Coke just came out of the fountain machine right? McDonald’s found the secret formula to make Coca-Cola as delicious as possible. The syrup comes in steel tanks, instead of plastic bags. McDonald’s also keeps the syrup cold right up to the fountain machine.
So if McDonald’s really wants to make good lemonade, it’s going to start with its ingredients. The ingredients are not unique, anyone can make lemonade with lemons and sugar. Maybe McDonald’s will find that it needs to make some noise about its new menu item. If you’ve found a secret formula to create the best classic lemonade, it may be because of what McDonald’s goes through in the making process.
