It’s no secret I’m not a fan of McDonald’s. The once great fast-food chain has become the Rebecca Black of restaurants.
I’m not alone in my thinking. McDonald’s is no longer ranked in the top 10 fast-food restaurants by young Americans, and the sentiment shows in its earning.
McDonald’s response to this bad news has been to add more interesting (and expensive) items to its menu, including wraps and smoothies. Now, the fading glory is looking to take a bite out of another popular food group: coffee.
Specifically, McDonald’s is trying to capitalize on the success of major money maker Starbucks by expanding its coffee selection to include Pumpkin Lattes, an imitation of Starbucks’ famed Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
As Bloomberg reports, the fall themed coffee will be available in non-fat and whole milk options in three different sizes. A 16-ounce serving will cost $2.89 and will contain 340 calories. It’s competitor costs $3.79 and contains 380 calories.
In the fall of 2010, McDonald’s introduced the Carmel Latte to compete with Starbucks’ drink of the same name. In 2011 McDonald’s adopted the Peppermint Mocha (I’m sure you can guess which Starbucks drink that copies – McDonald’s is clearly not concerned about creativity points anymore.)
While the quality of McDonald’s rip-off Pumpkin Latte remains to be seen, its Peppermint Mocha coffee has left a bad taste in my mouth – literally. As a year-round Peppermint Mocha drinker, (yes, its available at Starbucks outside the holiday season – you’re welcome), I’ve tried McDonald’s version of this syrupy treat several times. And each time I walked away wishing I’d just spent the extra dollar and went to one of Starbucks’ bajillion stores instead.
Serving specialty lattes may be a stop gap to McDonald’s problems, but offering cheap imitations of other popular brands’ goods isn’t going to do the trick. Not when Burger King is around the corner offering better tasting, healthier fries and Chipolte is just all-around awesome in every way.
Bottom line: If McDonald’s wants to win back its customer base, it’s going to have to be a whole lot more creative than it has been recently.
