McDonald's 'McCafe' Picks Up Steam, Challenging Starbucks

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The McDonald’s latte has come to Chicago — the biggest U.S. market yet for the McCafe phenomenon. New TV ads are luring Chicagoans to the chain’s newly-equipped restaurants, using promises of free sample drinks every Monday. And supposedly, the majority of McDonald’s restaurants across the country will be espresso-and-froth-capable by the middle of next year.

It’s a great time for it — McDonald’s has already been picking up customers from higher-priced restaurant chains as people cut down on their dining expenses. Maybe fans of high-margin luxury coffee drinks will also choose to save money by indulging themselves at McDonald’s instead of Starbucks.

McCafe first launched in 1993, in Australia, and McDonald’s has said that locations offering specialty coffee generate 15 percent more revenue than those without. But the company was slow to bring the concept to the U.S., upgrading just a few test sites in 2005.

Now it looks like they’re ready to go full-steam ahead; McCafe’s have been turning up in more and more areas for the past few months — and RBC Capital Markets said McDonald’s took market share from Starbucks for the first time ever in November.

A Chicago Tribune reviewer ranked the McDonald’s latte as better than drinks from Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts — but only if she ordered it without extra sweeteners. Other bloggers have been less impressed.

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Tags: Starbucks Corp., McDonald's Corp., Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Katherine Glover

Katherine Glover is a Minneapolis-based print, radio and online journalist. She's written for Salon.com, Sierra Magazine and many others, and she does a weekly blog on immigration issues for MinnPost.

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1

econtent

12/11/08 | Report as spam

RE: McDonald's 'McCafe' Picks Up Steam, Challenging Starbucks

I agree, it is a great time for a company to offer a substitute to Starbucks, but I'm not lovin' it. I'd rather get my lattes from a cool cafe that reaks of coffee rather than a loud, sausage-smelling fast food place. With all those fry beepers going off and the madness known as Playland, I think the journey to actually get the coffee might take something away from it. Plus the coffee does not compare to the smoothness and amount of caffeine per drink at Starbucks. It's a good sub though for the cash crunched days or when Starbucks seems too far away. Still, the more I try drinks from less expensive places, the more I appreciate Starbucks.

Christina
http://www.freestuffandsamples.com/coupons
2

GulfGirl

03/06/09 | Report as spam

RE: McDonald's 'McCafe' Picks Up Steam, Challenging Starbucks

Grab a Senseo pod coffee maker, then go to Amazon and order this thing called The Duck or similar which allows you to use your own grounds in the instant-on hot pot and brew yourself the best coffee at the best price possible in 90 seconds.
I LOVE mine, I have them in almost every location I hang out and have given them to friends and family. Senseo/Phillips was giving the coffee maker away for free for a while and W-M had them for about $25.
You'll be 90 seconds from great frothy topped coffee.

Lundy
http://www.ConcreteCottage.com