McDonald's has generally left menu innovation to its rivals.
While Burger King has been adding new Whoppers and Taco Bell seems to add multiple menu items every few weeks, the top fast-food brand has generally used gimmicks and promotions rather than innovation to get customer attention.
The chain has done things like releasing its Big Mac Sauce in stand-alone packs and leaning on its "As Featured In" and celebrity meals to excite customers. McDonald's' new-menu item list has been pretty sparse and it has leaned heavily on returning fan favorites.
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People like the Shamrock Shake, for example, but it would be a bigger news story if it did not return for the St. Patrick's Day season than when it does.
McDonald's did add a Double Big Mac in January, but that's hardly an answer to Taco Bell adding its chicken-based Cantina Menu or Burger King's line of wraps, its endless Whopper innovation, or its new frozen cotton candy beverage.
It's a testament to McDonald's that it has so much customer loyalty to its core menu that it seems not to need many limited-time offers to drive traffic.
The chain has decided, however, to bring back a fan favorite for its summer menu.
Image source: McDonald's
McDonald's brings back a popular treat
McDonald's has reached into its vault for its latest limited-time offer, the McCafé Oreo Frappé. Oreos have always been a popular feature at the chain as part of the McFlurry line.
The McCafé Oreo Frappé first appeared on the chain's menu in 2015 and disappeared not long after and seemingly forever. McDonald's brought it back last summer — after eight years away — and it has begun popping up at select locations for a planned May nationwide rollout.
"A sweet treat made with rich chocolate flavor, a hint of coffee and Oreo Cookie Pieces," the company said on its website. "It’s blended with ice then hand-topped with whipped light cream and a few more Oreo Cookie Pieces for good measure. Available in small, medium, and large sizes. There are 550 calories in a small McCafé Oreo Frappé."
It's a relatively small menu addition but one that customers should immediately embrace.
McDonald's bets big on beverages
McDonald's last big viral menu hit was the Grimace Shake. That product became a social-media sensation, not necessarily for its taste, but it was an attention-driver for the chain.
Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski explained how McDonald's identified what it saw as a large opportunity during his company's fourth-quarter-earnings call.
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"[About] a year ago, we formed a new business-ventures team designed to operate as an entrepreneurial startup within McDonald's," he said. "The team quickly identified an opportunity in a $100 billion category across our top six markets that comprised of beverage-led occasions where our core McDonald's business underindexes."
McDonald's isn't addressing that just by adding new beverages at its current locations. It has also launched an entirely new brand.
"In a little less than a year, the team opened a pilot CosMc's restaurant, and the buzz has been electric," he added.
McDonald's has spent years trying to address beverages and compete with Starbucks (SBUX) for customers during nonpeak dining periods.
Kempczinski made clear that the chain is still in the early innings of the CosMc's experiment and its overall beverage and snack innovation.
"Now let me say this again, we're only talking about a 10-store test," he said. "But more than that, we're excited about what this says about our potential to test, learn, and innovate quickly.
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"Each of these examples illustrate our ability to identify opportunities and adopt new ways to surprise and delight our customers. It gives us an incredible amount of resilience as a system, no matter where the customer goes next or what the macroeconomic landscape may bring."
