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McDonald’s new Premium McWrap is more than a new menu item, it is, in restaurant parlance, a new “platform,” meaning different varieties can be added. Part of its appeal is that almost anything can be rolled in a flour tortilla and added as a McWrap LTO without requiring major crew retraining. The first three varieties [...]

As BurgerBusiness.com reported  last week, McDonald’s has removed its Angus Third Pounders. As this site also reported, new Quarter Pounder burgers will fill the void. In an exclusive interview with BurgerBusiness.com today, Greg Watson, SVP of McDonald’s USA’s Menu Innovation Team, detailed the plan, which involves converting two of the 5.33-oz.-patty Angus builds to 4-oz.-patty [...]

There’s no question that Burger King’s new Bacon Cheddar Stuffed Burger isn’t really a stuffed burger: a true Juicy Lucy-style stuffed burger has fillings in the center of the burger. BK simply mixes bacon and cheese into its ground beef patty. But at least those are traditional burger condiments. In Germany, McDonald’s this week has [...]

This was McDonald’s Corp. CEO Don Thompson’s pledge during last week’s Q1 earnings call: “Throughout the year, we will feature even more compelling new products in the United States, especially in our four key growth categories of chicken, premium beef, breakfast and beverages.” And from where will these great new menu items come? Said COO [...]

McDonald’s Corp. CEO Don Thompson explained the company’s poor showing in the first quarter by stressing once again that the Informal Eating Out (IEO) marketplace is a zero-sum game where survival and growth come at the expense of competitors. “Our growth is going to come from taking market share,” Thompson told analysts. The “thoughtful and [...]

McDonald’s Corp. releases Q1 2013 sales results on Friday and the numbers aren’t expected to be pretty. Or positive. A 1.5% decrease in global comp sales for February after a 1.9% decline in January have fairly well sealed the deal on the quarter. There also are signals that consumer confidence and spending are still fragile [...]

Steve Easterbrook, the the former president of McDonald’s Europe who left the chain in 2011 to head PizzaExpress (and who then went on to be CEO of Wagamama Limited), rejoined McDonald’s Corp. as EVP-Global Chief Brand Officer. He’ll oversee marketing, menu development and consumer and business insights. It’s a post Easterbrook previously, if very briefly, [...]

With CKE Restaurants’ release today of preliminary results for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2013, it’s now possible to estimate 2012 sales for the top burger chains and see how they align. On an earlier post, BurgerBusiness.com estimated that Burger King held the No. 2 spot for domestic sales, slightly eclipsing Wendy’s. Now it’s [...]

This is Australia’s year to get McDonald’s promotions it’s previously been denied, apparently. It’s just finishing its first exposure to that McMarketing chestnut, the Monopoly game-piece promotion. No sooner will consumers find out who won the grand-prize Kia than will McDonald’s kick off one of its other global favorite sales-building tools, the America-themed menu. Sources [...]

A McDonald’s franchisee says the chain will remove Angus Third Pounder burgers, Chicken Selects and apple-walnut salad, a move likely intended to clear menu space for an expected rollout of McWraps and other new items. McEnaney Enterprises, a Princeton, Ky.-based McDonald’s operator, announced via Twitter that the Selects , the salad and Angus burgers all [...]

German fast-food eaters are notoriously tough to please and McDonald’s admits business there has been sluggish. But now comes a possible solution in the form of McCurrywurst, an appealingly priced (€2.99 or $3.99) mix of pork bratwurst chunks in a spicy tomato sauce accompanied by shaker packs of either mild or sharp curry powder. Will [...]

A single McDonald’s restaurant in Warilla, Australia, this week began a limited, five-week test of offering dine-in customers food brought to their table served on china, accompanied by glassware and cutlery. According to a story in the Illawarra Mercury, the test has been given the green light by McDonald’s Corp. Anyone ordering a Grand Angus, [...]

If McDonald’s is serious about importing more menu ideas from its stores around the world then breakfast could become much more interesting. Outside the U.S. the humble McMuffin is getting a turn in the spotlight. Japan stores are offering a new stacked-up Mega McMuffin with double the sausage, as one part of the annual Big [...]

In his interview with BurgerBusiness.com earlier this month, J.M. Owens, president of the Greater Atlanta McDonald’s Operators Association, said that one challenge keeping McDonald’s from offering breakfast all day is simply space limitation: There isn’t enough grill space in a standard McDonald’s kitchen to prepare two menus—breakfast and lunch/dinner—at once. In Rockford, Ill., northwest of [...]

A McDonald’s franchisee for more than 40 years and operator of eight units, J.M. Owens this year became president of the Greater Atlanta McDonald’s Operators Association. He spoke with BurgerBusiness.com about the negative impact of ending the 2% payroll tax reduction; menu (including McWraps) and pricing; efforts to extend breakfast sales; and the chain’s intention [...]