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RetailMcDonald's

McDonald’s Wants to Be the New Starbucks

By
Mahita Gajanan
Mahita Gajanan
By
Mahita Gajanan
Mahita Gajanan
December 5, 2016, 5:02 PM ET
BEIJING, CHINA - 2015/01/28: A customer holds a cup of Coffee served by McCafe out of a McDonald's restaurant.  In the 2014 fiscal figures released on January 23, 1%  drop in global sales in 2014 highlighted the challenges McDonald’s faced. Especially, weak economy in Russia and supplier issue In China drives down McDonald's revenue growth in 2014. (Photo by Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A customer holds a cup of Coffee served by McCafe out of a McDonald's restaurant.Zhang Peng—2015 Zhang Peng

McDonald’s is challenging Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts in the coffee business as part of an effort to attract more customers.

The fast food company will reintroduce a newly branded McCafe, complete with upgraded $12,000 espresso machines, special deals for customers and a promise to buy more sustainably sourced coffee, to make McDonald’s a go-to location for a caffeine boost, Bloomberg reports.

For McDonald’s, which has seen a decline in foot traffic, the revamped McCafe offers a chance to attract customers accustomed to upscale coffee drinks. To draw customers away from its competitors, McDonald’s will highlight its price advantages over Starbucks with offers including $1 drip coffee and $2 small specialty beverages over the first quarter of next year.

McDonald’s has already begun competing with Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts—this fall, the company sold pumpkin-spice lattes throughout the U.S. for the first time in three years. In Canada, McDonald’s sells Americanos and shots of espresso, and even has a standalone McCafe in Toronto.

About the Author
By Mahita Gajanan
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