McDonald’s recent decision to serve fresh meat in its quarter pound burgers has paid off, with sales significantly spiking in the past 12 months.
The fast food empire’s reported Quarter Pounder sales initially jumped by more than 50 percent just a month after the restaurant chain introduced fresh beef in its burgers across the company’s 14,000 U.S. locations back in May 2018.
“We’re proud that taste and food quality drives sales,” McDonald’s USA President Chris Kempczinski said in a press release. “McDonald’s sold 40 million more quarter-pound burgers in Q1 2019 than in Q1 2018.”
How is fresh beef driving big growth at McDonald’s? Take a look at our progress: https://t.co/FB80Xyth9x pic.twitter.com/k9yvAON5M2
— McDonald’s Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) June 24, 2019
Sales of the Quarter Pounder continued to grow at an annual average of 30 percent throughout the year.
“With the introduction of fresh beef and the promotions including fresh beef quarter-pound burgers helping result in a sustained quarter-pound burger sales increase 30 percent on average throughout the entire first year,” Kempczinski said.
#DYK that our @mcdonalds seven classic burgers have no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors and no added colors from artificial sources? Our pickle contains an artificial preservative, so skip it if you like 🍔 https://t.co/HvrZzbWPBU #NationalHamburgerDay pic.twitter.com/96REA5310x
— McDonald’s Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) May 28, 2019
To optimize quality and safeguard against any possible food safety issues, McDonald’s introduced specially designed packaging for the fresh beef patties, developed dedicated kitchen utensils, added new refrigerators to maintain safe storage temperatures, and increased the internal temperature required for cooking the patties.
Food safety is our top priority. We are proud to join world leaders in celebrating the first annual #WorldFoodSafetyDay to help focus everyone on the importance of food safety. See how we make “food safety, everyone’s business” at McDonald’s: https://t.co/RtpUnA5zwG pic.twitter.com/fmNYlMeHhC
— McDonald’s Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) June 7, 2019
The chain said the transition away from frozen beef aimed to provide customers with a “hotter and juicier” burger. Fresh beef Quarter Pounders are available in most states, excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories.
“When we listen to our customers, good things happen,” McDonald’s SVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer, North America Marion Gross said.
We’re refreshing the All Day Breakfast you crave, with the all day convenience you love. @McDonalds restaurants in the U.S. will refresh their All Day Breakfast menu on a local level to better serve customers after traditional breakfast hours: https://t.co/2ABKxoCu9n pic.twitter.com/cwEX6CriLh
— McDonald’s Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) May 21, 2019
The shift represents the most significant change to McDonald’s since the All Day Breakfast was introduced in October 6, 2015 and rolled out to supply nearly 3,000 independent franchisees.
“We could not have been successful without our supply chain partners who shared learnings and best practices to ensure the massive transformation went smoothly and elevated our existing food quality and safety procedures,” Gross said.
McDonald’s has a history of industry-changing transformations. Take a look at how our #ExperienceoftheFuture efforts are shaping our U.S. restaurants: https://t.co/gse5tSRRcC pic.twitter.com/Ej0GPh9cex
— McDonald’s Corporation (@McDonaldsCorp) June 3, 2019
How was @McDonalds able to increase sales for their Quarter Pounder? @DoriMonson isn’t surprised one bit 🍔 pic.twitter.com/gf8RS7krEN
— KIRO Radio 97.3 FM🎙 (@KIRORadio) June 25, 2019
