We’ve all done it – or thought about doing it – at one time or another: building the perfect Burger or Breakfast Sandwich by ‘improving’ existing Fast Food offerings. This is called ‘Food Hacking’ and it’s become something of a sport among those who can’t get along without their McFix…
Variations on a theme: Three versions of the new limited-time Triple Stack…
McDonald’s has been more sensitive than other Burger chains to its most dedicated patrons – the ones who love the food so much they actually invent their ideal menu items. Witness the chain’s recent move to offer customizable burgers at some locations. They also made it possible to add an Egg to any of their burgers for a small extra charge. Now, for the first time in years, McD’s will offer a new Breakfast Sandwich – albeit, for a limited time only. (These days, the Fast Food chains hardly ever add new items to their menus permanently; just rotate the really good items as specials, each available for a few weeks or a month at a time.)
“People have been hacking our menu for years — so much so that it’s inspired our new Triple Breakfast Stacks,” said Chef Mike Haracz, Manager of Culinary Innovation at McDonald’s, in a statement. “We love seeing the fun ways our customers and McDonald’s crew have been creating their own takes on our classics. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next — you never know what might end up on our menu.”
What it is…
In answer to diners’ demands for a more substantial, more filling Breakfast, McD’s is offering what it calls Triple Breakfast Stacks: two Sausage Patties, a layer of Bacon, two slices of American (Processed) Cheese, and either a round or a folded Egg on either an English Muffin, a Biscuit or a pair of McGriddle cakes. No mater how you stack it, that’s a mouthful!
Just the latest evolution of McBreakfast…
This is not the first time McDonald’s has ramped up it’s Breakfast offering in response to customer demand, and pressure from competitors. Whereas McDonald’s has traditionally been the leader in its market segment, usually first to introduce new ideas and menu items, It’s lagged behind on the breakfast front, trailing others on the implementation of all-day breakfast, for example.
Even after inaugurating a massive upgrade of its decor and equipment and service scheme, the Burger Giant has been unable to break out of the sales doldrums. Now it’s trying a major menu tweak to kick-start interest in its fare. Only time and the reaction of McDonald’s fans will tell whether the Triple Stack will do the trick. I think not.
My take…
By catering to the converted – its established fan base – with Triple Stacks, McD’s is not going to expand its market share significantly. And I don’t think the die-hard McBreakfast crowd will increase their spending significantly, either. That makes this latest attempt by McD’s to boost business look like a desperation move. And that’s a sign, to me, that the Fast Food industry is hitting a wall.
It’s another sign of the shakeout in the industry I’ve been predicting for a couple of years, now; a period of turmoil which will see many lesser players fold, or be taken over by larger ones, like the recent acquisitions of Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic by Arby’s, and other, similar mergers, notably the consolidation of Tim Horton’s, Burger King and Popeye’s under the Restaurant Brands International (RBI) banner, and the earlier agglomeration of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell under the YUM! Brands umbrella.
After an upheaval that may last into the middle of the 2020s there will remain a few mega-players who will be trying to be all things to all diners. And that is likely to be a dead-end, too. What Fast Food folks must do to survive and thrive over the next ten years is to stake out a specialty niche and do it better than anybody else. That’s my take, anyway…
~ Maggie J.