Dive Brief:
- McDonald’s will serve the Daily Double, a cheeseburger with two patties, nationwide starting July 22 and running through the end of 2025.
- The expansion follows strong market performance in cities including Miami, Seattle and Chicago, the chain said.
- The burger will also be part of McDonald’s McValue Meal Deal, which includes small fries, four-piece McNuggets and a small drink. It will cost $6 or $7, depending on the restaurant, while the McChicken and McDouble Meal Deals cost $5.
Dive Insight:
The Golden Arches has looked to a combination of menu innovation and value meals to solve its same-store sales troubles this year, and the Daily Double is a clear extension of that effort.
The new sandwich is a variation on McDonald’s double cheeseburger format, which includes the McDouble and Double Cheeseburger. The latter two sandwiches, staples of the Golden Arches’ menu, come with mustard, ketchup, chopped onions, pickle slices and cheese. By contrast, the Daily Double is topped with mayo, lettuce, shredded onions and sliced tomato.
Long-term LTOs and value meal deals that last for several months are weapons in the value war arsenals of various brands. KFC’s original $4.99 meal deal was slated to run for eight months in 2024. At the Golden Arches, the Daily Double could join a rotation of recurring LTOs — the McRib, among others — that McDonald’s uses to periodically generate buzz. McDonald’s, for example, used limited market drops of the Chicken Big Mac to create hype for the sandwich last October.
McDonald’s has been hesitant to add to its permanent menu for several years, but with the advent of the McCrispy Chicken Strips that may be changing. The chain has signaled its intent to expand its beverage menu with drinks from CosMc’s. Earlier this year, the brand created new teams dedicated to innovation in the specific menu categories of beverages and dessert, beef, and chicken. The Daily Double, like the McCrispy Strips and the forthcoming beverage tests, shows that strategy in action.
