McDonald's is debuting another new breakfast item, and it reveals a massive shift in the fast-food chain's strategy
- McDonald's is launching a new breakfast menu item called Donut Sticks: strips of deep-fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
- Donut Sticks are McDonald's first national rollout of a breakfast baked good in years and will only be available in the morning.
- While McDonald's has long been the king of fast-food breakfast, the chain has recently lost market share to competitors as rivals double down on morning sales.
McDonald's is debuting Donut Sticks as the chain attempts to beef up its breakfast menu.
On Monday, the fast-food chain confirmed Business Insider's report that Donut Sticks - strips of deep-fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar - will be a new addition to McDonald's breakfast menu. The Donut Sticks will be available across the United States starting February 20, for a limited time.
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Customers will be able to buy six Donut Sticks at the recommended price of $1.29, or a dozen for $2.39. McDonald's is also pushing a bundled deal of a half-dozen Donut Sticks and a small coffee for $1.99.
While McDonald's has long been the king of fast-food breakfast, the chain has recently lost market share to competitors as rivals work on morning sales.
Now, McDonald's is doubling down on breakfast with new deals and menu items. While all-day breakfast helped boost McDonald's sales, the chain is now pivoting to add more morning-only offers to the menu.
In September, McDonald's expanded its $1 $2 $3 menu to include a $1 any-size coffee, $1 Sausage Biscuit, and a $1 Sausage McMuffin. In November it debuted Triple Breakfast Stacks, breakfast sandwiches with three times as much meat - the chain's first new breakfast item in 15 years. McDonald's also mentioned in Monday's statement that it is testing "premium bakery items," including Muffin Toppers and Coffee Cakes, in certain locations.
In January, McDonald's CFO Kevin Ozan addressed the company's attempts to boost traffic, especially during the morning.
"We're doing well with average check growth but we really want the customer comes back and more often," Ozan said on a call with investors. "So there are a number of initiatives that we are going to be deploying, some of these real nuts and bolts stuff, just looking at our staffing levels ... Clearly menu innovations always play a part."
New menu items can help bring in new customers. And, making the items only available at breakfast helps build a morning routine for people who may not be visiting McDonald's regularly for coffee.
The Donut Sticks will represent McDonald's first national rollout of a breakfast baked good in years, though the chain has launched a number of regional tests. Currently, McDonald's only has three items on its national McCafé Bakery menu: the apple pie and two kinds of cookies.