McDonald’s plans to bolster its wildly successful meal deal with the addition of a “McValue” initiative in a bid to lure cost-conscious customers and restore its reputation after a deadly a E. coli outbreak.
The world’s largest fast-food chain will extend its $5 Meal Deal – which it rolled out in the summer and was supposed to last just four weeks — through the first half of 2025 and launch a “buy one add one” option, according to CNBC.
The new McValue offering will allow customers to tack on an extra item to any purchase for $1 – including a double cheeseburger, McChicken sandwich, six-piece nuggets and small fry, or breakfast menu items including a Sausage McMuffin, sausage biscuit or sausage burrito and a hash brown, sources told the outlet.
McDonald’s did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The chain has been offering deals at select locations, like a 10-piece McNuggets for $1, as it looks to attract customers who have shunned fast-food restaurants after inflation pushed up menu prices.
Restaurant operators are still voting on the 2025 initiatives, but it looks likely to pass, according to CNBC.
The $5 Meal Deal — which includes a McChicken or McDouble, a four-piece Chicken McNuggets, small french fries and a small soft drink – had helped offset sluggish overall sales.
But its efforts to boost visits and sales were swept off course last month after an E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions on its Quarter Pounder burgers killed at least one person and sickened more than 100, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sales and customer visits nosedived in the week after the outbreak, according to McDonald’s and Placer.ai data.
The Golden Arches recently said it has invested more than $100 million since the crisis, toward its worst-hit franchisees and marketing efforts to salvage its reputation.
The outbreak came after McDonald’s announced it had beat revenue and earnings expectations in its most recent quarter, but that global same-store sales dropped 1.5% and US sales rose just 0.3%, below estimates.
“You need, at the foundation, to have a strong value proposition. And that’s been the focus for us in a number of our markets, either strengthening, adding to, adjusting our value programs so we have that good foundation,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the earnings call.
which includes a McChicken or McDouble, a four-piece Chicken McNuggets, small french fries and a small soft drink – through the first half of the year and launch a “buy one add one” option, according to CNBC.