After extensive taste tests that lasted nearly a year in Sacramento, Calif., and also Toledo, Ohio, McDonald's Corp. is going national in June with three new Quarter Pounder burgers.
The Deluxe, Habanero Ranch and Bacon and Cheese Quarter Pounders will all feature buns with whole grains, while the Original Quarter Pounder will sport the same bun it always has, according to a report in Nation's Restaurant News.
News of the trio's arrival comes just days after the fast food chain announced it would be saying good-bye to its line of Angus Third Pounders, removing the premium burgers from its regular menu.
Claiming more than 14,000 corporate or franchise quick-service restaurants in the United States, McDonald's has struggled the first part of the year to drive sales in an environment where consumers are demanding more low-price, low-margin items like those McDonald's Dollar Menu category.
The Angus Third Pounders carried higher prices than core burgers, often between $4 and $5, often failed to sell more than a few dozen units a day per store, which caused as much frustration among McDonald's franchisees as the low-margin Dollar Menu has, Richard Adams, a former McDonald's owner-operator who now consults franchisees, told Nation's Restaurant News.
The McDonald's owner-operators Adams consults have responded positively to the idea of the new Quarter Pounder variations so far, Adams said, but the true effect on profit margins and traffic will depend on the new product price range, which McDonald's has not yet disclosed.
"The franchisees have known for months, and everyone's eager to get it done," Adams said. "It's a baby step. Any time you can get a product out of the restaurant that's selling only a few per day, that means less inventory and spoilage, so that's good. This new Quarter Pounder has no new investment in new equipment or remodeling, which is also good. But a lot of it will be determined by the selling price."
Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based Technomic Inc., agreed price will matter for the new Quarter Pounders and that McDonald's in all likelihood would aim for a price point below the $4 mark.
Of course, a big plus going for the new Quarter Pounder flavors is that McDonald's has new-product news for its advertising momentum, while the items being introduced wear the moniker "Quarter Pounder," which has four decades of brand equity.
"I think the news should be viewed as a positive for the brand and the franchisees," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based Technomic Inc. "They'll have opportunities to put the marketing focus on one of the best burgers McDonald's has...It's still a good burger and a signature item, so why compete with it?"
Tristano added that re-focusing from a third-pound to a quarter-pound burger is probably better tuned with consumers who have been trending away from the excess calories and higher prices that come with bigger portions.
"If McDonald's a decade ago was accused of 'super-sizing,' they're more in line now with right-sizing the menu with this move," he said.