McDonald’s has expanded its build-your-own burger test trials in Southern California. It now has four stores where customers are encouraged to assemble any combination of the following:
Beef patty: One or two
Bun: Buttered toasted bakery-style bun, buttered toasted artisan roll
Cheese: American, sharp white cheddar, pepper jack
Toppings: Chili lime tortilla strips, guacamole, red onion, caramelized grilled onions, jalapeños, grilled mushrooms, lettuce, pickles, tomato, Big Mac sauce, spicy mayo, creamy garlic sauce, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, bacon
The aim is to discover popular combinations that McDonald’s – which hasn’t managed to generate a hit recently – can export to the rest of the country and potentially the world.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi have taken similar approaches with new machines that let people mix their own beverage combos. (Coke’s Freestyle machines are in McDonald’s stores.)
Coca-Cola rolled out Fanta Cherry in supermarkets after discovering it had become a popular selection on the Freestyle, and Pepsi has said it will use the insights from its Spire machines to “tailor specific offerings based on consumer preferences.”
Customers can already customise their orders at other American fast-food chains such as Subway and Chipotle.
In the McDonald’s model, customers place their orders via tablet, which means the orders can be analysed to learn which ingredient combinations are most popular.
Campbell Gibson for NBR Food Industry Week
Fri, 26 Sep 2014
Fri, 26 Sep 2014
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