iStock.com/RiverNorthPhotography
McDonald’s Has Announced a McFlurry Makeover. Here’s What You’ll Get
September 5, 2024
McDonald’s has announced that it’s giving a fan-favorite treat a long-overdue makeover. The McFlurry, which has long been a staple on the fast-food giant’s menu, is going to look a little bit different going forward. This move is the chain’s most recent effort to drive additional business to its faltering restaurants.
McDonald’s McFlurry Makeover
CNN reports that McDonald’s is making environmentally friendly changes to the popular sweet treat. The business will stop serving the ice cream treat with a plastic dome-shaped lid on Sept. 10 and replace it with a new cardboard cup with four flaps to cover the top.
The corporation has been trying to make ecologically friendly modifications for a number of years, and this update is the most recent. The corporation has made reducing plastic one of its stated objectives in response to criticism of its persistent pollution issues. Specifically, plastic straws have the potential to worsen marine species conditions by increasing ocean pollution and introducing microplastics.
In order to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its restaurants and headquarters by 36% between 2015 and 2030, McDonald’s announced a goal in 2018. The restaurant company replaced some of its plastic Happy Meal toys in 2021 with 3D paper toys for customers to assemble.
The McFlurry plastic spoon — which also served as a spindle to mix in the toppings — was phased out by McDonald’s in 2023. Customers now receive a smaller black spoon that utilizes less plastic when they order a McFlurry, and to mix the toppings, the chain now employs a reusable spindle that is cleaned after each use.
A new McFlurry serving size, known as the Mini McFlurry, will also be available starting next week for consumers seeking a more manageable or affordable dessert alternative. The smaller offering will also be served in new cups, which are half the size of the larger ones.
Faltering Fast-Food Sales
News of McDonald’s rebranding of the McFlurry comes hot on the heels of the fast-food chain’s mixed economic results.
Back in May, it was revealed that since the beginning of Q1, McDonald’s has been changing the items on its menu, guaranteeing its famous burgers will taste better as customers’ palates get pickier. But the massive fast-food chain is now raising the stakes.
According to FOX Business, in an effort to “further build on our leadership in beef,” McDonald’s CFO Ian Borden has spearheaded the effort to develop a “larger satiating burger.”
Borden acknowledged that not all locations have received the formal rollout of the new offering. Instead, he stated that the business would be “testing this burger in a few markets later this year, ensuring that it has universal appeal before scaling it across the globe.” So far, he stated that 80% of the chain’s restaurants have already started serving the updated “Best Burgers.” Additionally, he declared that “almost all locations” will have the upgraded burgers available by the end of 2026.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski stated that the company was “addressing an unmet customer need across markets for larger high-quality burgers” when the company first unveiled the larger burgers back in February.
“We’re working horizontally across the system to innovate,” he said. “As we test and learn, we’ll be working to understand how the new offering will complement our already established burgers, like the Double QPC [Quarter Pounder with Cheese] or the Big Tasty.”
“Consumers continue to be even more discriminating with every dollar that they spend as they faced elevated prices in their day-to-day spending, which is putting pressure on the [quick-service restaurant] industry,” Kempczinski stated during the company’s conference call, per CNBC.
McDonald’s reported revenue of $6.17 billion compared to an estimated $6.16 billion for the first quarter this year, but adjusted profits per share dropped to $2.70 from an expected $2.72 billion.
The fast-food chain reported that same-store sales for the category decreased by 0.2%. This is the first time since 2020 that sales have decreased, partly as a result of boycotts of the business during the Israel-Palestine conflict, which started after McDonald’s gave free food to IDF soldiers.
Recent News
