Image of Ronald McDonald and CosMc
Photo: PopIcon

CNBC reports that McDonald’s is planning to launch a spinoff brand in 2024 called CosMc’s. Some might remember that CosMc (pronounced cosmic) was an alien mascot launched by the brand in 1986 through commercial advertisements that showed him visiting McDonaldland and meeting Ronald, Grimace, and company.

According to Fox Business, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski explained on an earnings call that the new small-format concept restaurant will have “all the DNA of McDonald’s, but its own unique personality.” Fox went on to add that “Kempczinski didn’t elaborate on the company’s plans. However, McDonald’s will have more information about development plans and new format innovations at its investor day in December.”

In the early ’90s, McDonald’s opened smaller McDonald’s Express stores, which sought to expedite its services through smaller locations with reduced menu items. Since this new project uses a different name, it’s safe to assume the company will be going above and beyond its previous incarnation.

There are no further details about how the new concept store will operate exactly, but speculation can be made based on how other brands have been developing over recent years. This new CosMc store could possibly follow in the footsteps of businesses like Chipotle and sweetgreen as they continue to transition into a model that reduces labor and human interaction.

In 2019, Forbes reported how Chipotle first introduced “a few dozen Chipotlanes” that allowed customers to place their order through Chipotle’s mobile app or website and then “pick it up in the Chipotlane, all without ever having to leave their car.” And there’s no need for a drive-up menu board since everything is pre-ordered via digital means.

Fast forward to 2023, and the brand has already garnered at least 500 Chipotlanes locations nationwide, according to Restaurant Dive, with plans to continue developing them.

As for sweetgreen, the restaurant chain recently announced it would be using a fully automated production system they call the “Infinite Kitchen.” According to QSR magazine, “The robotic production line will prepare 100 percent of orders, eliminating the need for a front line and a secondary make line. Around half of sweetgreen’s variable labor in restaurants is production—or assembly-related, which means the system will free up employees to focus on guest-facing experiences.”

Furthermore, “Infinite Kitchen is expected to bring about significant throughput gains, something Neman said has been a ‘huge focus’ for sweetgreen over the past six months.” Sweetgreen’s Infinite Kitchen is the major focus of this brand, and it plans to become fully automated in the near future. The success and popularity of this service could have a major impact on how fast-food establishments and restaurants operate in the future.

QSR magazine also shares that sweetgreen is already proving how “staffing and labor improvements, enhanced training materials, and a new leadership structure that removed a layer of middle management have all yielded increases in speed-of-service. New formats, including the first drive-thru and pickup-only stores that launched last year, are seeing faster throughput, too.”

Restaurant Business explains the current scenario: With their first Infinite Kitchen setup up and running, sweetgreen claims, “The automated system is faster, uses more exact portions and is more accurate.” The chain of work is not completely devoid of humans, since there are hosts to help guide customers and take orders that are not placed with the self-service kiosks, and “a human at the end of the process adds final touches, like a sprinkle of herbs or scoop of avocado.”

Ultimately, a fully automated storefront also equates to a more seamless cohesion of other features, such as digital screens and merchandise, to further capitalize on brand storytelling and customer loyalty. This all sounds like a win-win, but one thing sweetgreen has not yet officially commented on is how many human employees will be needed at each location.

Though it isn’t clear yet whether McDonald’s CosMc’s spinoff restaurant will also aim to be fully automated when it launches next year, it’s sure to attract a lot of attention, especially after the successful revival of Grimace and his viral TikTok shake trend.

BrainTrust

“Interestingly, McDonald’s has registered the CosMc’s and CosMc trademarks to apply to actual food and beverage products as well as the category of restaurant services.”

Neil Saunders

Managing Director, GlobalData


“Looking down the road, we will see semi- or fully-automated fast-food restaurants followed a few years later by a need to fill the then void of human-cooked food.”

Bob Amster

Principal, Retail Technology Group


“Companies thinking about changing up the customer experience should really try it before rolling it out.”

Cathy Hotka

Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates

Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will fully automated fast-food restaurants become the new norm? Do you think there will be negative repercussions to the economy from factors such as a possible lack of jobs in the fast-food industry?

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When choosing between a standard staffed fast-food establishment and a fully automated one, which would you prefer?

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6 responses to “McDonald’s Launching CosMc’s Spinoff in the New Era of Food Service”

  1. Neil Saunders Avatar
    Neil Saunders

    While we know that CosMc’s will be a smaller concept store, McDonald’s has not given too much else away and won’t do so until its investor day at the end of the year. However, the store could be collection only or drive thru only – which would fit in with the general decline in eating-in. This format would also cut down on costs thanks to a smaller footprint and lower staffing requirements. But … why go to the effort of creating a whole new brand name for a smaller format doing essentially the same thing as a regular McDonald’s? It doesn’t make much sense. Interestingly, McDonald’s has registered the CosMc’s and CosMc trademark to apply to actual food and beverage products as well as the category of restaurant services. So, this suggests something more radical could be afoot, like a completely different foodservice concept. Only time will tell…

  2. Bob Amster Avatar
    Bob Amster

    Looking down the road, we will see semi- or fully-automated fast-food restaurants followed a few years later by a need to fill the then void of human-cooked food. Companies will star berating ‘food cooked by a machine’ in favor of ‘food cooked by real people.’ This will be cyclical. It has happened with other products and services and it will happen here also.

  3. Cathy Hotka Avatar
    Cathy Hotka

    I attempted to buy food yesterday at a McDonald’s that has a single register…to no avail. The wait wasn’t worth it. Companies thinking about changing up the customer experience should really try it before rolling it out.

  4. Gene Detroyer Avatar
    Gene Detroyer

    Neil makes an interesting observation about the CosMc trademark. Will CosMc products eventually be available in supermarkets and convenience stores? The growth in the U.S. population is running at 0.1%. That translates to almost no growth for traditional QSR. If they are going to grow, their business has to come from some space else.

  5. Carlos Arambula Avatar
    Carlos Arambula

    It depends on the meal experience the consumer is willing to accept; for example, I can see a space for automated fast-food restaurants where the price would be one of the competitive advantages.

    As far as the lack of jobs, it could also create new types of jobs in the technology & food preparation sector. 

  6. Ryan Mathews Avatar
    Ryan Mathews

    Whether or not they become the “new norm” remains to be seen, but the trend is definitely moving in that direction. Driving home from New York State yesterday I ran across a Panera at a service center that offered consumers the option of standing in line or just completing the whole ordering process on a tablet. From my very unscientific observation it seemed like diners divided pretty evenly between options. And, then industry might not have a choice going forward. The perennial problem of staffing has only gotten worse and wages have crept up to the point that the legal minimum wage for restaurant workers in cities like Seattle is now over $19 an hour. As to repercussions as H.L. Mencken once noted, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” There will always be a growing market for fast-food although why sometimes beats me.

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Neil Saunders
Neil Saunders
Noble Member
1 month ago

While we know that CosMc’s will be a smaller concept store, McDonald’s has not given too much else away and won’t do so until its investor day at the end of the year. However, the store could be collection only or drive thru only – which would fit in with the general decline in eating-in. This format would also cut down on costs thanks to a smaller footprint and lower staffing requirements. But … why go to the effort of creating a whole new brand name for a smaller format doing essentially the same thing as a regular McDonald’s? It doesn’t make much sense. Interestingly, McDonald’s has registered the CosMc’s and CosMc trademark to apply to actual food and beverage products as well as the category of restaurant services. So, this suggests something more radical could be afoot, like a completely different foodservice concept. Only time will tell…

0
Bob Amster
Bob Amster
Active Member
1 month ago

Looking down the road, we will see semi- or fully-automated fast-food restaurants followed a few years later by a need to fill the then void of human-cooked food. Companies will star berating ‘food cooked by a machine’ in favor of ‘food cooked by real people.’ This will be cyclical. It has happened with other products and services and it will happen here also.

0
Cathy Hotka
Cathy Hotka
Active Member
1 month ago

I attempted to buy food yesterday at a McDonald’s that has a single register…to no avail. The wait wasn’t worth it. Companies thinking about changing up the customer experience should really try it before rolling it out.

0
Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
Trusted Member
1 month ago

Neil makes an interesting observation about the CosMc trademark. Will CosMc products eventually be available in supermarkets and convenience stores? The growth in the U.S. population is running at 0.1%. That translates to almost no growth for traditional QSR. If they are going to grow, their business has to come from some space else.

0
Carlos Arambula
Carlos Arambula
1 month ago

It depends on the meal experience the consumer is willing to accept; for example, I can see a space for automated fast-food restaurants where the price would be one of the competitive advantages.

As far as the lack of jobs, it could also create new types of jobs in the technology & food preparation sector. 

0
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
Active Member
1 month ago

Whether or not they become the “new norm” remains to be seen, but the trend is definitely moving in that direction. Driving home from New York State yesterday I ran across a Panera at a service center that offered consumers the option of standing in line or just completing the whole ordering process on a tablet. From my very unscientific observation it seemed like diners divided pretty evenly between options. And, then industry might not have a choice going forward. The perennial problem of staffing has only gotten worse and wages have crept up to the point that the legal minimum wage for restaurant workers in cities like Seattle is now over $19 an hour. As to repercussions as H.L. Mencken once noted, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” There will always be a growing market for fast-food although why sometimes beats me.

0