McDonald’s Testing Out Breakfast Catering In Florida

McDonald’s is testing out a breakfast catering service in Central Florida in an attempt to compete with eateries like Panera Bread.

According to the Chicago Tribune, McDonald’s is offering its entire breakfast menu — including McMuffins, sausage biscuits, pancakes, burritos and parfaits — in packages to serve six, 12 or 18 people. Delivery will be via Uber Eats, which the fast food giant partnered with last year to bring food to its customers.

Sue Martin, owner and operator of three McDonald’s restaurants in Volusia County, said, “You would be surprised how many big orders we get for teachers’ breakfasts or meetings. This is just putting it into an easier package.””

The service is available at all 195 restaurants in Central Florida, and during breakfast hours only. Orders can be placed with both the Uber Eats and McDelivery apps. Deliveries will include the regular Uber Eats fees — around $3.50 per order. In addition, customers can place the order at the restaurant or call in and pick up the orders.

McDonald’s increased sales in 2015 when it began selling breakfast items all day. However, the fast food giant is well behind other global competitors, such as Starbucks and Taco Bell, when it comes to ordering online and using digital tools to enhance the consumers’ experience.

Though the fast food chain reported its highest sales growth in six years in January, U.S. same-store sales were down 1.3 percent year on year. In fact, the number of customers McDonald’s draws has reportedly been dropping every year for the past four, falling just over 2 percent in 2016. This comes to a 10.4 percent fall in foot traffic.

As a result, McDonald’s has been playing quick catch-up with its in-store tech, mobile ordering and delivery initiatives. It even tried an interesting promotion last year: a “customized, digital Big Mac ATM” in Boston that dispensed two new sizes of burger — the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac — free of charge.