McDonald’s Burgers Receive A Glow Up Seven Years In The Making

You might have heard about the new CosMc’s drive-thrus that offer a range of coffee and treats aimed at taking on Starbucks. But that’s not the only trick McDonald’s has up its sleeve when it comes to regaining lost market share.

One notable strategy involves getting back to the basics by improving a core menu item: hamburgers.

Focusing on the star

The Big Mac is clearly the most iconic item on the fast-food chain’s menu, but critics say the quality has deteriorated substantially from McDonald’s heyday. Dry patties, stale buns, and wilted lettuce have sullied the double-decker burger’s reputation … but that’s about to change.

Here are some improvements in store for the Big Mac:

• A new brioche bun with a thicker bottom to better retain heat
• Lettuce and pickles stored in smaller containers to maximize freshness
• Cooking a smaller batch of patties at one time for tastier meat
• A half ounce of “special sauce” instead of the current one-third ounce
• Tempered cheese that will melt better once it is put on the bun

Other important tweaks

Many customers have decided it’s worth it to pay a few bucks more for a meal at Five Guys or some other higher-end burger joint, and McDonald’s is trying to lure some of those customers back. But the company has to make sure that employees will be able to quickly adapt to the changes.

Senior Director of Global Menu Quality Chris Young explained: “We can do it quick, fast, and safe, but it doesn’t necessarily taste great. So we want to incorporate quality into where we’re at.”

Testing began in Australia and is already being rolled out across America’s West Coast with all U.S. McDonald’s locations expected to be using the new standards by early next year.

Chris Agee December 11th, 2023

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