McDonald's Just Axed Popular Food Item from Happy Meals
McDonald’s was never intended to be the healthy alternative. People who go to the fast food restaurant know what they’re getting, and that’s usually not a healthy meal and a comfortable ride home.
Diners are content to sacrifice healthy eating for convenience and taste, but not as frequently as they used to.
McDonald’s sales have been decreasing steadily over recent years, which seemed to spell doom for the fast food giant.
With sales going down, McDonald’s was forced to change the way they do things. Consumers are becoming more health-conscious, and want a larger variety in their fast food menus.
The first major change McDonald’s made was to extend breakfast to last all day.
Once consumers heard that they could get their favorite breakfast food after the traditional 10:30 cutoff, they flooded the stores with business.
For the first time in a long time, McDonald’s was finally seeing growth in their stores. All-day breakfast was a great start, but they still had a massive hurdle to face: Happy Meals.
Happy Meals were always a treat growing up. Parents don’t usually buy them regularly because of the health implications, but they remain a delicious, easy lunch for parents on-the-go.
McDonald’s now wants parents to have a bit more confidence when buying their children Happy Meals. They’re aiming to reduce the calories in a Happy Meal to under 600 in the United States.
Now, they’ve removed the cheeseburger from the Happy Meal menu to help meet their calorie quota.
Customers can still ask for a piece of cheese on their Happy Meal burger, but the menu will only officially offer hamburgers or chicken nuggets.
“We hope these actions will bring more choices to consumers and uniquely benefit millions of families, which are important steps as we build a better McDonald’s,” McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement.
It’s clear that the fast food restaurant wants parents to feel more comfortable buying their child a happy meal.
They’ve also taken other steps to help limit the calories on their kid’s menu. They recently cut the amount of sugar in their chocolate milk and added a bottled water option.
Although these are small steps in the right direction for McDonald’s, it’s clear that parents are increasingly prioritizing their child’s eating habits over convenience.
It may be only a matter of time before McDonald’s and restaurants like it have to change their business model.
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