McDonald's Rolls Out Angus Burgers
CHICAGO - McDonald’s today has rolled out nationwide a new high-end burger line, one-third pound burger patties of Angus beef. The Deluxe, Bacon & Cheese and Mushroom and Swiss are the first new burger launches from the chain since the Big N’ Tasty was added in 2001.
The burgers include slices of red onion, sautéed mushrooms, full bacon strips, and Swiss cheese.
McDonald’s tested the concept for two years. It is part of its "barbell" marketing strategy during the recession. It is called a barbell because the strategy is to offer attractive value offerings at breakfast, lunch and dinner, one end of the barbell, as well as expand into new premium price point products, the other end.
Darren Tristano, executive vice president for Technomic, observes, “The opportunity for 'better burgers' is heating up.” He continues, “Add in McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's gourmet burger offerings, Burger Shots and the Big Mac Snack Wrap and we see increasing innovation.”
“With greater variety, consumers will have their mouths full!” adds Tristano.
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Related Reading:
Better Burger Market Heating Up
- Franchise topic:
NBC Today Show, July 3: McDonald’s rolls out its biggest burger ever. Made from angus beef, the angus burger with bacon and cheese comes with 700 calories and a price of nearly $4. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports.
Note: The above video stream by Hulu.com can only be seen by North American viewers.
What would be really innovative would be to buy something that looks the same as the ad.
The more things change; the more they stay the same.
To add to your comment I would say "...it would be really innovative to actually get something that looks the same as the ad."
I purchased a McDonald's Deluxe Angus burger meal on Tuesday, here in Seattle, and drove home. I open the box and take a bite -- AHHHHH!!!!! NO RED ONIONS. The whole purpose in me buying it was to taste the crisp red onions along with the burger. I was angry, I looked inside the sandwich and there's diced white onions. YUK!!! I paid this much money for diced white onions. The TV ads show red onions, the billboards show red onions, the posters inside McDonald's show red onions. EVEN THE BOX HAS A PICTURE OF A RED ONION ON IT.
That is the only explanation. I know how you feel about red onions. I hate white onions also.
I tasted a McDonald's Deluxe Angus burger they are great. I personally would not buy an Angus burger for myself. Way too many calories. ( 700 or more.)
look as good as their ads.
I saw a television special on what they do to make food look good. It was interesting. Many times the meat isn't cooked. I believe they use things like shoe polish and other tricks to make it look better.
Funny you should say that. I went out and bought a Deluxe Angus burger for lunch today. (I like to study my news story subject matter first-hand if I can.) Before I chomped down, I took a quick photo. No primping. No black shoe polish to beautify it. Here is the photo of the one-third pound burger. It wasn't even out of the box yet.
Mmm. It was tasty.
The eight hundred pound McDonald's silver-back gorilla has just moved into a new patch. And his name ain't Ronald.
No food looks in production like it does in the photos - just like cars. The FTC, back in the 1960s, when there was really very little for the government to worry about other than Viet Nam and Hippies, used to actually go after food photography misrepresentation under Section 5 of the FTC Act prohibiting unfair and deceptive acts and practices in commerce - things like cakes in adverts being made with two boxes of mix instead of the one box you would make the cake with - made the cake look like it was very high and luxurious.
But the pictures don't go into your mouth. Once past your lips you can't see it any more. That's when the decision will be made whether to come back and try it again. I've been trying the others - like 5 Guys (nothing special at all - terrible limp soggy fries). Mickey D wins hands down. Good thing my cholesterol numbers are right on the money and I can eat these whenever I like. The ale keeps the cholesterol under control. I am living proof of that.
This comes along just as I am getting addicted to Chipotle Grill burritos. Burritos, angus burgers from Mickey D and I live in Texas. Lord, why are you so good to me?
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
As I stated in a previous post, you don't want to be in the way when the big boys point their guns at you. I was in Canada working for Quiznos when McDonald's tested toasted subs up there. Even though just a test they took a "Big Bite" out of our sales, and made a big impact on the sub category overall. The point is that their advertising looks great and has millions behind it to make the point, and they always execute well. Most of the smaller upscale burger guys can not afford a 5 - 10% drop in revenues, it takes them below break even and into oblivion. Whereas just a single digit increase in sales at McDonald's flows right to the bottom line after the direct costs of sales are covered. These products are well within their core competencies, and consumers trust them in this area. The same rule applies for pizza, subs, coffee and any other category where there are numerous super efficient, highly profitable and well run competitors with huge R&D and marketing budgets. The odds are not very good when you fight that battle. I think the only people that can survive are the established or highly innovative operators that have strong local followings for their quality, service and or value, significant points of differentiation or local flavor and are embedded in the landscape of the community. That leaves plenty of room for highly qualified and knowledgeable entrepreneurs to be successful, but eliminates the non-experienced amateurs from jumping on the bus to get rich quick because the category is "hot". If I never here the words "hot category" again it would be great!
A quick peak at their 2008 financials shows a heavy reliance on area development fees for revenue, no retained earnings of any sort, an incomplete list of expenses, and plenty of sold but not opened units.
And to boot, a Fransmart client.
Interesting.
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
posting than you have made in here (that I have noticed). If only the 5 Guys investors had thought of that before they went public with their FranWhack franchising program. Their franchisees will all be in here in 12 - 18 months lamenting why it is that the government didn't protect them from 5 Guys.
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
Hang out with smart people, keep your mouth closed, watch and listen, then make sure you have something to say before you bother to say it, and you might actually learn something. Fortunately I keep listening to those that know more then me and I keep learning along the way. This site gives me access into many of the legal and professional minds versus the opinions that people opine without any real training, experience or knowledge. Unfortunately one has to sift through the drama to get to the facts and reality of the situation. Given my background and business plans I will probably never be elected for public office by those that are driven by emotion. The good news is that people are always willing to pay for performance. The winners of tomorrow are those that can look at today's realities and adjust accordingly and quickly. I am reading a new book called "The Future Arrived Yesterday" by Michael S. Malone, and highly recommend it to anyone in business.
Too bad Malone doesn't directly link up his vision with protean corporations with the franchise form.
I wrote about franchising as a corporate form, in connection with the Parmalat fraud and the difficult it is causing Deloitte Touche.
Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises called "The BizOp News"
because I could never sit quietly with my mouth shut. I always thought that learning by being an interrupting influence was best. If you prevail over the person who slaps you around for interrupting, then you are obviously smarter than he is, right?
Funny how you and I, coming from completely different backgrounds, arrived at this same fork in the road. Like Yogi Berra said, "When you come to the fork in the road, take it."
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
SPOOF - The Onion reports that McDonald's is also rolling out a new all-beef bun. Upscale burger competitors were heard to gasp when they heard the news. Click the audio play button below to hear the broadcast.
at BJ's Micro Brewery casual restaurant - really good eats and fantastic ale made on site. The only issue is that the place had a significant number of booths for seating. Most of the customers at a place like that are morbidly obese, huge, impossible to fit into a booth people.
I suggested to the manager that booths in that place were really a bad idea, and I explained why. He never understood a word. People were weaiting for tables when booths were available, but the waiting people couldn't fit into the booths.
I doubt he will even be smart enough to use that obvious suggestion as a submitted idea and win a prize.
I looked like a bloody anorexic in there today - and Belinda weighs about 105.
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
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