McDonald’s set the standard for the fast food industry.
They threw their competition a curveball.
And McDonald’s made one surprising decision that will have fans racing to the drive-thru.
McDonald’s announces no surcharge for eggs – $1 McMuffins coming
The price of eggs started to surge after former President Joe Biden went on a socialist spending spree and unleashed rampant inflation.
Biden’s administration then decided to kill more than 100 million healthy chickens last year in response to bird flu.
The high price of eggs has led restaurants to make some hard decisions.
Major restaurant chains began introducing an egg surcharge to compensate for higher costs.
Waffle House began charging customers 50 cents for every egg.
Denny’s and mom-and-pop restaurants began following suit with their own egg surcharges.
The price of dining out, especially fast food, has surged since the pandemic.
Potential egg surcharges at fast food restaurants would be another blow to inflation-weary consumers.
McDonald’s announced that they wouldn’t be adding any surcharges to eggs on the breakfast menu.
“Unlike others making news recently, you definitely WON’T see McDonald’s USA issuing surcharges on eggs, which are 100% cage-free and sourced in the U.S.,” McDonald’s chief impact officer for North America wrote in a LinkedIn post.
McDonald’s is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the chain serving breakfast and the McMuffin.
Customers ordering through the app can get a $1 Egg McMuffin or Sausage McMuffin.
The chain has also been running a buy one, get one for a $1 on Sausage McMuffins and its breakfast burritos.
McDonald’s is the leader in the fast food industry so it’s likely that other chains will follow their lead on avoiding egg surcharges.
Breakfast restaurants could be forced to pivot from high egg prices
Shake Shack CEO Rob Lynch predicted that restaurants with breakfast would introduce more chicken and beef items to combat the rising price of eggs on a fourth-quarter earnings call.
“I mean we don’t have a breakfast business, a big breakfast business,” Lynch said. “So we don’t have the exposure to eggs.”
“But other restaurant companies that have exposure to eggs may be moving away from eggs in the time being, which means they are going to offer more beef products or chicken products to complement, to substitute for that high-cost item,” Lynch added.
Marketing experts praised McDonald’s for its decision to avoid egg surcharges and predicted the move would pay off.
Flying Fish Labs marketing expert Mario Braz de Matos said the move would be “likely to pay off handsomely for McDonald’s.”
“McDonald’s doesn’t just stand for fast food, it also stands for value,” Matos told Business Insider. “In good times, it matters, but in harder economic climates, it makes this particular aspect of the brand more attractive to consumers.”
Monogic food and beverage marketing executive Alexandra Leung argued the Egg McMuffin promotion was about promoting the McDonald’s app.
“I think that the measure of success for this promotion might be better evaluated through metrics like app downloads and digital engagement rather than sustained McMuffin sales post-promotion,” Leung stated.
McDonald’s is one place where consumers can find relief from Bidenflation for breakfast.
