OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's is adding three new Quarter Pounders to its menu as the fast-food chain looks to offer cheaper premium burgers while capitalizing on one of its most popular brands, reported the Associated Press.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based fast feeder said the new burgers will replace its meatier Angus Third Pounders, which were among the most expensive items on its menu at around $4 to $5. The Quarter Pounders will come in two of the same varieties as the Angus burgers--Bacon & Cheese and Deluxe. The third option will be Habanero Ranch.
The new Quarter Pounder line will use a bun that has eight grams of whole grains, while the original Quarter Pounder will stay with its regular bun. In addition to the new buns, the new Quarter Pounders will also use a thicker apple wood-smoked bacon. McDonald's says the bacon will replace the hickory-smoked bacon currently used in its other sandwiches, as well.
"We've had some feedback from our consumer that our bacon may not have been as high quality or met their expectations but we are just in the process of rolling out a new bacon system wide," Neil Golden, chief marketing officer of McDonald's USA told The Chicago Tribune. "We feel like that bacon is a fabulous enhancement to many of our products," such as the chain's premium McWraps and chicken sandwiches.
The company tested the new Quarter Pounders at restaurants in Sacramento, Calif., and Toledo, Ohio, over the past nine months. McDonald's Corp., which has about 14,000 U.S. locations, said the new burgers will roll out nationally in mid-June.
Greg Watson, senior vice president of the menu innovation team at McDonald's USA, said the company started looking at revamping its burger portfolio about a year ago and realized that it hadn't done much to tinker with the Quarter Pounder, which was introduced in 1971 and remains one of the chain's best sellers.
"Once we created these burgers, we didn't see the need for the Angus line," Watson said.
Watson said that "price was not really a driver" in swapping out the Angus burgers for the Quarter Pounders. But he conceded that "the Quarter Pounder will be an even greater value than the Angus burgers."
Watson told Burger Business in an in-depth interview, "We're finding with the Quarter Pounder is that there already is a great love for the brand and this is a relatively easy way for us to bring more customers to it. … We believe that we have a hit on our hands by taking this great Quarter Pounder icon and bringing news to it. And let me emphasize that we are not touching the original Quarter Pounder and Quarter Pounder with Cheese. They will stay just as they are."
He added that the new sandwiches will be a permanent addition to the menu.
Click here to read the full Burger Business interview with Watson.
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