In February of 2006, Consumer Reports rated McDonald’s as serving up the best coffee. If the Golden Arches managed to beat Starbucks on basic brew, isn’t it expected that they would thirst for more?
And the quenching begins now as McDonald’s nearly 14,000 locations will begin serving gourmet coffee beverages, complete with espresso bars and personable baristas. Hey! Starbucks started it by adding drive-thrus and breakfast sandwiches.
In truth, McDonald’s has waged the battle of the beverages. The Cola Wars are beginning to look flat. The chain is going up against convenient stores by adding a variety of bottled drinks to its line - Coca Cola, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lipton, Red Bull, etc. But countertops along Main Street better be on-guard as well - McDonald’s is going after them the old fashioned way - with shots to make flavored fountain sodas.
McDonald’s is really just doing what any competitive capitalistic company would do - catering to its customers’ tastes. Right now we are seeing a boom in specialty drinks - most notably coffee beverages. Convenience is at the core of fast food so why wouldn’t they want to save their customers an extra trip when they want to accompany their favorite burgers and fries with their preferred types of beverages?
My question is - why stop there? Between building a brain for business and holding onto the spirit of college late nights, I have to wonder why McDonald’s doesn’t look into a liquor license. If you really want to appeal to the gross consumer market when serving up greasy food, your beverage should be beer. You would hit the tastes of every single customer - well, except the kids but they’ve been enjoying toys with every meal forever. It’s time adults get their kicks too.
Bottoms up. Starbucks, your turn to add Irish Coffee to the menu.
Inspired by “McDonald’s Takes on a Weakened Starbucks” by Janet Adamy.
The Wall Street Journal. Monday, January 7, 2008.
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