03/08/2024 – 9:00
McDonald’s launched a strategy this year focused on strengthening its coffee shop segment. The company reports that media investment for the area has grown approximately fivefold compared to 2023. In the last quarter, 11 McCafés were also opened, totaling 108 in the country.
Vice President of Operations at Arcos Dourados, the fast-food chain’s parent company in Brazil, Ricardo Guedes explains that the company wants to be an option for all meal occasions for its loyal customers. “Now we want them to include McDonald’s for breakfast too.”
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According to Guedes, the chain serves almost 2 million customers per day across the country. With the “Coffee with a McDonald’s flavor” campaign and the launch of 14 new breakfast products — such as medialunas, cakes, iced lattes, smoothies and affogatoos — the goal is to establish the idea that breakfast is made with the same ingredients as the rest of the menu.
“The cheese is the cheddar you find in the Cheeseburger, it’s the bacon you find in other products, it’s the Mc flavor you’ll find,” says Guedes.
Study motivated focus on coffees
The idea of increasing investment in McCafés came from a study by the consultancy On The Go, commissioned by Arcos Dourados. The objective was to discover the behavior of the chain’s loyal customers.
It was identified that the brand’s customers eat their first meal of the day outside the home two to three times a week, a frequency above the general public’s average, which is once a week.
“We are a brand that is very focused on convenience. We adapt to any customer’s wishes and desires,” says Guedes. “It is very important to be aware of the market’s dynamism, which always brings new developments, and to put the customer at the center of our strategic decisions.”
Operation breakfast
The breakfast menu includes cheese bread, different types of sandwiches, eggs and bacon, stuffed breads, cakes, coffee-based drinks, among others. These options are not exclusive to McCafé’s. Currently, around 80% of the entire McDonald’s chain already offers coffee products.
In non-dedicated stores, the full breakfast menu is offered between 7am and 11am. Only filtered coffee, milk and the grilled cheese family are sold all day.
‘Méqui window’
There are McCafé kiosks open in McDonald’s restaurants. Other stores have what the chain calls a “window” model, in which only a display case and a space dedicated to coffee are installed in a corner of the counter of a traditional restaurant.
There are also coffee shops that are completely independent from the main operation, without a McDonald’s attached. In São Paulo, some examples are in Shopping de Guarulhos, Shopping Center Norte, Shopping Interlagos and Shopping Center Leste.
In 2024, the expansion plan outlined by Arcos Dourados foresees the opening of approximately 50 restaurants. All will have a breakfast menu.
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