On October 23, 2024, a McDonald’s appeared in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.
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McDonald’s Value products are being prepared for 2025 to retain customers tired of high restaurant costs.
The company is charting a new “McValue” approach for next year, which includes keeping the $5 value meal deal it introduced this summer on its menu during the first half of the year while introducing a $1 “buy one plus one” option. CNBC Learn more. The “buy one plus one” deal includes a double cheeseburger; a McChicken sandwich; six chicken nuggets and baby fried chicken; and breakfast options include sausage waffles, sausage biscuits or sausage burritos and hash browns, according to people familiar with the deal.
Lately, local value products have been appearing on menus and apps across the country, including deals like 10-piece chicken nuggets for $1, as part of a broader value strategy.
While carriers are still voting on value products for 2025, the initiative looks likely to pass, two people familiar with the matter said. McDonald’s declined to comment.
McDonald’s beat profit and revenue estimates in its most recent quarter, but global same-store sales fell 1.5%. U.S. sales grew 0.3%, slightly weaker than analysts expected.
During the earnings call, executives said they were working to solidify the 2025 value platform launched in the first quarter of this year.
“At the foundation, you need to have a strong value proposition. That’s been our focus in many markets, whether it’s strengthening, increasing or adjusting our value plans so that we have a strong foundation,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said on a conference call with analysts.
“Then you need to layer it on top of food news that excites customers, and that has to have great marketing behind it. When you do that with press and great marketing, you can get powerful full margin checks from some of these A valuable plan,” he said.
But executives say a recent outbreak of E. coli linked to McDonald’s onion shreds led to a drop in customer traffic in October, which will lead to a fourth-quarter profit cycle.
The fast-food giant will invest more than $100 million to boost restaurant sales and accelerate the recovery of affected franchisees, CNBC reported Friday.
Of that amount, $65 million will be used to support owners who have lost business, targeting those in the hardest-hit states. About $35 million will be invested in traffic-driving initiatives, including marketing campaigns, according to a memo to owners and employees seen by CNBC.