A year after McDonald’s opened beverage concept CosMc’s, the burger giant re-emphasized confidence in the spinoff’s future and believes it found the best format to grow the brand.
Since CosMc’s debuted in Bolingbrook, Illinois, in December 2023, the chain has added six locations in Texas. McDonald’s tested renovating larger restaurant spaces and building smaller, digitally focused prototypes. It decided the latter was the best way to grow CosMC’s. As a result, the brand plans to close three larger remodeled restaurants and open two smaller format units in the Lone Star State this year.
“We have just scratched the surface about what we can learn about this growing category,” McDonald’s said in a statement. “The tests will continue for the foreseeable future as CosMc’s continues to grow – and we can’t wait to learn more… “
McDonald’s added that CosMc’s increased its knowledge of the beverage space, allowing it to make thoughtful menu updates. Some best-sellers include the Island Pick Me Up Punch, Churro Cold Brew Frappe, and the Sour Energy Burst. The most popular drink customization is the Fruity Popping Boba.
Hashbrown Bites are the favorite food item, and hundreds of thousands of McPops (bite-sized cream-filled doughnuts) have been sold.
“The CosMc’s team has been working hard to scale rapidly, generate new and exciting ideas, and keep learning through feedback from fans,” McDonald’s said.
McDonald’s appears to have turned opening a new prototype into an annual tradition.
In December 2022, the chain debuted a small-format location in Fort Worth, Texas with an order-ahead lane, or a separate drive-thru lane where customers receive their orders via a food and beverage conveyor. The order-ahead lane deploys technology McDonald’s said allows employees to begin preparing customers’ orders when they’re near the restaurant. The location’s app updates, food and beverage conveyor, and new kitchen format, all work to streamline operations, the brand said at the time.
A year later, the first CosMc’s opened. This past December, McDonald’s debuted its first “on the go” concept in Los Angeles, which features a mobile pickup window and pickup lockers, but no dining room. A company representative described the design as a pilot that’s “optimized for drive-thru and digital ordering.”
The designs show McDonald’s belief in the future of digital. In Q3 2023, McDonald’s digital business mixed more than 40 percent of sales across its top six markets, totaling nearly $9 billion. Helping accelerate off-premises growth is MyMcDonald’s Rewards. CEO Chris Kempczinski said in July that McDonald’s had 166 million loyalty members, which was ahead of expectations. Its goal is to reach 250 million members by 2027.
