McDonald's towers over its rivals. It's sort of like comparing Starbucks (SBUX) -) and Dunkin. Both are major brands, but one is so dominant over the other that Starbucks never has to consider its rival when it makes any decisions while Dunkin' seems to wait for the market leader to try things out before it borrows the ideas that worked.
Wendy's (WEN) -) and Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) -) Burger King have huge footprints but their actions rarely impact what the top dog in the fast-food burger space does. McDonald's (MCD) -) leads from a position of strength and that lets the company focus on the long-term rather than the day-to-day.
DON'T MISS: McDonald's Bringing Back Fan Favorites In a New Way
That's partly why McDonald's can literally do things that its customers don't like when they're in the best interests of the company. The chain, for example, dropped its very popular All-Day Breakfast during the pandemic in order to make its kitchens run more efficiently.
Fans did not like that nor have they liked McDonald's refusal to bring back its Snack Wraps despite heavy demand. The chain has instead chosen to focus on improving its kitchen operations and supporting the digital side of its business.
That has made new product introductions very rare because focusing on executing the core menu in the best way possible has actually proven more valuable to the company's business. But, McDonald's still occasionally likes to pull out something and it's doing that later this summer.
The move isn't a direct answer to Wendy's bringing back its Strawberry Frosty, but it's a similar move that's sure to delights customers.
Image source: Shutterstock
McDonald's Menu Adding the Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry
Globally, McDonald's has a lot more McFlurry flavors -- and rolls out new ones more often -- than it has in the U.S. That could be a way to not attract attention to the legendary issues it has had keeping the machines that make the ice cream treat work. Or it could simply be because the classic Oreo and M&M versions sell really well.
Now, however, the fast-food giant has a treat for its customers this summer as it's rolling out the Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry nationwide. That's a move the company confirmed on its website.
"The rumors are true: the Peanut Butter Crunch McFlurry is officially making its way to participating McDonald’s locations nationwide starting August 9. Made with our signature creamy vanilla soft serve and blended with crispy cereal mix and chocolatey peanut butter cookie pieces, this sweet treat will be available for a limited time, while supplies last," the company shared.
McDonald's Wants to Be McDigital
McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski focused a lot more on digital innovations and efficiency during his remarks at the company's first-quarter earnings call. Specifically, he addressed Accelerating the Organization, a company-wide effort to implement solutions globally.
"To support our ambition, to scale innovations with greater agility and collaborate more effectively, our second key shift is adopting One McDonalds Way to standardize the common processes we use to drive consistency and enable speed. We're an innovative entrepreneurial organization, but once a part of our system somewhere has solved a problem or developed a novel idea, we need to stop the work elsewhere," he shared.
Those efforts also include leaning more heavily on technology.
"We're making strategic investments in digitizing our organization and implementing new tools and platforms that make it easier for employees to access information to gain insights and drive performance," he added. "Ultimately, this will allow our market teams to spend more time in the restaurants, understanding the needs of customers, franchisees, and crew."
