McDonald’s new coffee concept

I got as far as “Starbucks was the millennial drink, but Gen Z is all about counter-culture – they’re looking for something else – Andrea Hernandez.” and zoned out.

When I regained consciousness, I googled her and found she is the founder of Snaxshot which is, apparently, “a curatorial and slightly mercurial grocery newsletter and community, which has grown into an industry force, read by consumer packaged goods executives and members of food media on a near-religious level. Andrea Hernández is the muscle behind this influential publication.”

Then I zoned out again.

“McDonald’s has begun to open the first locations of its experimental, retro coffee drive-through. CosMc’s is entering a crowded market, but may have a playbook for success.”

“The promise of galactic beverages drew hundreds to the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Illinois, last Thursday. Customers queued for hours; some offered bribes to shorten their wait. Lines of cars snaked around the village of fewer than 80,000 residents, all in pursuit of one thing: a specialty sip from CosMc’s, McDonald’s new beverage concept store.”

Something tells me we’re not quite the target demographic…

As far as I can tell, this is a concept aimed at an incredibly successful West Coast US chain, DutchBros. (DutchBros was itself a copy of a similar local chain in Portland which was bought out by Starbucks.) They are basically limited to coffee and tea based drinks marketed at teens with disposable income and people with tastes that run towards that of teens. Lots of very sweet, very colorful treats in a cup. All drive through, no seating, no or limited food. If my own daughter didnt force me to sit in lines to buy this crap, I never would have believed it was a valid business model.

While drive through coffee is not new, this is really not a coffee but syrup beverages which may or may not have coffee or tea somewhere in the mix. Pretty sure this is sold as a “coffee/tea break” for people who dont really like coffee or tea.

These places are ridiculously successful. McDonald’s version would likely add a limited food menu, but I doubt it will be the same as the regular franchises so as not to be direct competitors.