McDonald’s is one of the oldest, most globally known food chains in the United States. Founded Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940. McDonald’s is very much famous for two things. First, serving a diverse variety of burgers with exciting combos and second is their advertising and meal packaging. Let’s learn ‘Why is McDonald’s so expensive?’.
Multiple factors make McDonald’s an expensive place to have a meal, but after spending decades in the food chain business, the only thing you are paying the most money on is its brand image and reputation. Nevertheless, that does not mean they don’t serve a quality meal. Let’s dive into a deeper discussion on
What makes McDonald’s so expensive?
- Focused on a target audience.
- Shifting towards eco-friendly packaging
- The lucrative theme for new meals
- Increasing hourly wage.
- Prices of ingredients have skyrocketed.
- Employee’s benefit
- Advertising and Endorsements.
Focused an a Target Audience
Remember the clown effigy at every McDonald’s store? Yes, Ronald McDonald, the clown we used to see at every McDonald’s store swept a lot of kids to their doorsteps, just to see and sit beside the effigy. Well, kids are McDonald’s primary target, earlier McDonald’s used to offer happy meal toys on some of their high-priced menus, and not all.
McDonald’s knew that kids would drive huge sales and thus, made them their target audience. The strategy worked and drove an insane number of customers for the time being. However, it’s still the same, whenever McDonald’s decides to introduce a new menu, they put more effort into luring their target audience which comes with a price you pay at the restaurant.
Shifting towards eco-friendly packaging
Over, the past few years, McDonald’s has been moving towards sustainable and eco-friendly packaging. But why eco-friendly? What is the benefit of using eco-friendly packaging? standard Styrofoam packaging was indeed cheap however, the idea agenda for shifting towards sustainable packaging was to reduce waste emission, contribute one cause for saving the environment and individual’s health. The packaging that McDonald’s use to serve now is made out of recycled materials itself.
The lucrative theme for new meals
McDonald’s research and development team always comes up with exciting themes and menus. It takes time and effort to introduce a new menu or make changes to the existing one. Whatsoever it does come with a price you pay at the restaurant.
Increasing hourly wage
McDonald’s is not just any regular food chain now. It is a brand itself, a brand that needs a sufficient number of workers to run the business globally. McDonald’s is not just an average food chain business but on a global reach and to maintain smooth customer service they require decent workers who are willing to work at McDonald’s. However, like any other business, it is hard to find combative workers. This is why McDonald’s has raised the hourly wage by $3 an hour to maintain the worker’s efficiency, this tags along with the bill you pay.
Prices of Ingredients have skyrocketed
No matter how eco-friendly the packaging is or how good the customer service is, the main cause why McDonald’s is so popular is because of its taste and delicacies. To maintain the authenticity of their food, they pick the best and fresh ingredients like a fresh bread loaf, fresh chicken, vegetables, and other spices. However, when the price of ingredients increases, the price of the menu increases eventually.
Employees Benefits
McDonald’s has many competitors in the market, to maintain their standard and brand value, McDonald’s offers incredible benefits to their employees to stick around for a long time and to have more applicants for the job. This covers the cost of a McDonald’s uniform, they provide a decent health policy, provides maternal and parental leave, offers student programs and tuition assistance. All the facilities that McDonald’s provide to its employee come at a price, and this price adds to your bill.
Advertising and Endorsement
In 2021, McDonald’s collaborated with BTS to introduce a new meal. BTS is a globally known South Korean boy band consisting of seven members, who create magic with their music. The meal consisted of Chicken McNuggets, medium French Fries, a medium Coca-Cola, and two hot dipping sauces. The meal was introduced in approximately 50 countries and drove an insane number of sales each day.
McDonald’s in the Philippines has to discontinue serving BTS meals for some time because they were out of ingredients. Why? were people having chicken nuggets for the time, or did Coca-Cola come with a different flavor? None, the only reason why it drove so many customers to their doorstep was because of BTS. BTS has a huge fanbase on a global level, and approaching them was an incredible endorsing move.
People are willingly pleased to spend money on things that their favorite artist or celebrity has endorsed. However, to be able to afford them is not that easy, it’s expensive, and guess what? It tags along with your payment.
The final word
Every business becomes expensive over some time because they thrive to serve the best to its customers and to be able to fulfill their customer’s needs on a global level, they have to take various measures which eventually make them expensive. Nevertheless, the very first place that comes to my mind when someone mentions burgers is McDonald’s, because of their diverse burger menu and beverages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is Burger King, McDonald’s parent company?
No, Burger King and McDonald’s are in the same food business, which is serving a variety of burgers. However, they both are different companies.
Q2. Why is McDonald’s more famous than Dominos?
Both McDonald’s and Dominos are serving a different variety of food. Where McDonald’s is focused on serving Burgers, Dominos is focused on serving Pizzas. However, McDonald’s is more famous for its diverse meal plans and combos.
