McDonald’s cuts its premium sandwiches
McDonald’s is dropping its muchballyhooed line of premium sandwiches.
The Signature Crafted Recipes launched in May 2017 and included Pico Guacamole, Sweet BBQ Bacon and Maple Bacon Dijon, all around or above the $5 mark.
“Based on (customer) feedback, we’ll move away from the Signature Crafted Recipes line on our national menu,” McDonald’s said on its website.
“Our fresh new Quarter Pounder line-up brings customers more of the craveable, customizable and delicious tastes they love.”
When the artisanal line was unveiled two years ago, Chris Kempczinski, president of McDonald’s USA, said the menu additions would include “more food-forward ingredients” and appeal to millennials.
At the time, experts theorized that Signature Crafted Recipes were the company’s attempt to compete against fast-casual restaurants, companies that serve more upscale food but without table service, and so-called better-burger chains.
According to Robert Derrington, senior restaurant analyst at the Telsey Advisory Group, a brokerage firm in New York, Signature Crafted Recipes foods weren’t selling well, plus in March 2018, McDonald’s upped its game by introducing non-frozen meat in its Quarter Pounders.
“They’ve had success with fresh beef,” he said. “It appears they don’t need to supplement the higher end of their menu. Instead, they can do that successfully with their core products with updated ingredients.”
Peter Saleh, managing director at the New York brokerage BTIG, wasn’t surprised that the upscale sandwiches line-up was getting the ax, likening it to the Angus Third Pounder, introduced in 2009 and cut in 2013.
“They have a pretty long history of premium items that haven’t really worked on their menu,” he said. The buzz “has kind of dwindled.”