Photo by hirotomoMcDonald’s has announced that they will be launching new Quarter Pounders mid-June, 2013.
The question of the hour is: Why are three new Quarter Pounders being added to their Food Menu?
Answer: I don’t know, but I’m about to speculate why.
First Reactions
My initial thought is that McDonald’s just wants to be more like Burger King, by revamping their Quarter Pounders. Burger King is known for targeting their male 18-30 demographic with their meatier burger patties. That is because their Ads suggest that manly men need thicker burgers.
What do you think?
Quarter Pounders Get Three Updated Tastes
Here are the Quarter Pounders that McDonald’s is rolling out with:
- Option #1 comes with Bacon and Cheddar
- Option #2 comes with Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion
- Option #3 comes with a special Habanero Ranch Sauce
All three variations of the Quarter Pounders will feature the new Whole Wheat Bun (8g to be exact) and thicker Apple Wood Bacon, if requested.
It appears that McDonald’s is attempting to put a more healthier spin on their new Quarter Pounders in an attempt to look better to consumers.
Will New Quarter Pounders Translate into More Business?
The jury is still out on whether this re-launch of the mighty Quarter Pounders will steal back the burger market from “the Burger King.”
Parents typically pick McDonald’s Menu over Burger King because of the wildly successful Happy Meals. Burger King knows this and targets single males without kids to enjoy their flame-broiled burgers.
Employees of both burger joints will attest to the occasional comedian that will come to the drive-thru and order the competitor’s trademarked sandwich. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the Whopper/Big Mac Prank video:
[youtube=http://youtu.be/zkt3pfCGpOo&w=750&rel=0]
Please note: This new Quarter Pounder Promotion will not affect me personally, as I prefer Five Guys Burgers just because of the taste (but that’s just my opinion).
Hey great article Zack. I’ve never been a big fan of McDonalds myself. I kind of like the cafe style grilled with cheese and maybe some grilled onions. The fast food burgers don’t really appeal to me.
That being said, The #1 option possible with habanero sauce added sounds pretty awesome. Maybe they’ll let you get a combo of options. I would definitely give one of them a shot.
But on the marketing side of all this, it does sound like super small investments for potentially huge profits. Of course that’s what fast food is all about right? 🙂
I agree, the Habanero option is worth a try at least once. I’m not sure if I will like the new bun (by the looks alone) but I’ll keep an open mind.
McDonald’s will probably make a lot of money from this campaign. We’ll see.
Guys, give up with Mac… For your own good… Faster!!!!!!!
Evan, the Big Mac is McDonald’s flagship burger! My once a year visit to McDonald’s drive thru is to pick up a Big Mac. But, as you say, it may be healthier to give it up.
Eating healthy means that you have to only eat fast food occassionally. However, if you look at the fast food statistics, we’re all eating far more than that. How else could McDonalds have their amazingly high “billions served” statistics? I mean, someone has to be eating all of those burgers!
I don’t think that throwing a whole wheat bun on top of low quality, high-fat meat will make a huge difference in the healthiness of the product.
I’m still hoping that someone will come up with a drive through sushi restaurant! Sushi King! haha
James,
I agree with you about the fast food.
As far as drive thru sushi, there is such a thing, but not with a national fast food chain.
A local Wendy’s in my city shut down and an Asian/Chinese/Japanese business opened there. They take your order at the drive thru and you wait for it and they bring it out to you. That includes sushi on their menu.
Great article,i once worked at MCDonalds, but I have never been a huge fan of it. Food is really bad and the work stress is to high.. Although it’s great for kids with the happy meals they got 😛