McDonald’s Banks On Bakery To Beef Up Breakfast Sales

It’s been nearly 50 years since McDonald’s started serving up breakfast as part of its daily offerings, but it’s been almost a decade since anything new was added to the morning menu. That will all change on Oct. 28, when the fast-food mainstay will add three new choices to its lineup of all-day breakfast items: apple fritters, blueberry muffins and cinnamon rolls, according to a statement from the company.

“We’re continuing our breakfast innovation by adding tasty new sweet options with our new McCafé Bakery lineup. We know our customers deserve a break now more than ever, and are excited to give them another reason to visit their favorite breakfast destination by offering delicious flavors they crave, any time of the day,” said Linda VanGosen, vice president of brand and menu strategy, McDonald’s USA.

In 1971, the Egg McMuffin was McDonald’s initial entry into the breakfast landscape, and was among the first offerings in a new category of fast food. Breakfast burritos topped the morning menu at McDonald’s in 1991, and McGriddles followed in 2003.

McDonald’s later pivoted to healthier offerings, announcing in 2015 that it was committed to sourcing 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2025. Further, the company’s popular premium roast coffee is now 100 percent sustainably sourced.

The QSR’s move to extend its breakfast offerings is in response to sluggish sales as the pandemic continues to disrupt people’s regular routines, reports indicate. Another reason is due to competitor Wendy’s, which has reported that breakfast foods account for 8 percent of its sales.

Overall, digital innovation has been a game-changer for easing the pandemic fallout for QSRs, fast-casual eateries and fast-food chains.

“With COVID-19, we’ve gotten very serious about making big strides in digital,” Zipporah Allen, Taco Bell’s vice president of digital experiences, recently told PYMNTS.

Although McDonald’s said in July that its revenue fell 30 percent for the second quarter of 2020, the eatery is doing better than the restaurant industry overall. In fact, McDonald’s marked National Cheeseburger Month by offering mobile order-ahead app (MOA) customers a 50-cent double cheeseburger, a throwback to the cost of a cheeseburger when it became a menu item in 1963.