🍟 10/23/2023 – McDonald’s Pizza : A McFailure
DEEP DIVE
The McPizza Era
What’s the secret to McDonald’s 40,000+ stores in 100+ countries?
Adapting the menu to local cuisine.
It’s why there’s Matcha McFlurry in Japan, spam breakfast platters in Hawaii, and McCrunchy bread with Nutella in Italy.
But there’s one item you can’t get anymore. PIZZA
Their expanded menu highlights reel goes something like this:
- Egg McMuffin: 1973
- Chicken McNuggets: 1983
- McPizza: 1989
That’s right: served in 500+ stores, McPizza was the crown jewel of a 15-year development plan.
And a total failure, discontinued by 2000.
The McPizza Failure
Back then, McDonald’s dominated the $48B burger market with a 40% share.
But they aimed to grab market share of a new pie: pizza.
At the time, Pizza Hut and independent pizza parlors were growing 10% every year.
Their goal? Make dinner as big as they made breakfast. In 1973, McDonald’s launched the Egg McMuffin to attract early-morning customers.
It was a HUGE success. So huge, that Egg McMuffin ushered in an entire breakfast menu that’s still thriving today.
Their new idea? Replicate this success for the post 4 PM customer: i.e. dinner.
The consensus was that customers weren’t turning to fast food for dinner, and pizza was what’s for dinner.
McPizza was first introduced in Indiana and Kentucky in 1989, alongside pasta to form an exclusive dinner menu.
Challenging the pizza chain industry.
The challenge ruffled Pizza Hut, prompting promos and “McFrozen” dough ads.
At its peak, estimates think McPizza was served in ~2k US franchises.
But there was a big issue. Their development plan overlooked McDonald’s business model: FAST food. Since 1948, McDonald’s “Speedee” assembly line system was built for a fast delivery of a limited menu of fried and cooked foods in 5-10 mins.
On a griddle. You can’t cook pizza on a griddle It took 11-16 mins in an oven; several pies took 20-30.
“So good, so fast”? Not quite.
McDonald’s spent years developing a patented oven that turned frozen dough into crispy pizza in under 6 min.
Speed was crucial to compete with established chains and local pizzerias, but they didn’t have it.
Not only were kitchens remodeled and ovens replaced, but windows too. McDonald’s pizza boxes were too big for drive-thru windows, so what did they do?
Expand every window. This actually happened, costing millions.
Execs also wanted a window for folks to watch McPizzas being made. Franchisees also remodeled to make way for new windows.
McPizza’s slow cook time clashed with McDonald’s fast-service reputation.
Rivals like Little Caesars constantly make pizzas, with warming ovens to keep them ready, like McDonald’s Speedee system but just for pizzas.
Given McDonald’s kitchen setup, this was 100% unachievable. In short, McPizza was a massively expensive failure that the company phased out by 2000.
Today, its legacy lives on in one location.
Order it from the world’s largest–18k sq ft–Orlando store 15 min from Disney, and tell us all about it.
Maybe dreams really do come true?
FRANCHISE HEADLINES
Paris Baguette’s New CDO Embraces Brand Potential
With his sights set on helping Paris Baguette reach its goal of 1,000 units by 2030, new Chief Development Officer Eric Lavinder has taken the mantle after the departure of previous CDO Mark Mele to Edible Brands.
“I think the potential to bring back those neighborhood cafes and neighborhood bakeries is something I can’t wait to help do across the country,” said Lavinder. “There’s really nothing that is the same type of niche that we’re hitting on.”
Fuzzy’s Signs 20-Unit Development Deal in Nevada
Multi-unit franchisee Mark Justice owes it to chance and circumstance the signing of a development agreement with Fuzzy’s Taco Shop to open 20 restaurants in Nevada.
It was at a Dine Brands event in Washington, D.C., earlier this year that Justice found himself sitting across from Paul Damico, the president of the Fort Worth, Texas-based fast-casual taco concept. The two franchise veterans apparently hit it off, which led to additional conversations and eventually a deal.
“Paul and I started chatting about the restaurant business and then Paul introduced me to Marc Rogers, a very successful Fuzzy’s franchisee in Colorado. That added to my intrigue in the potential for the brand,” Justice said in an email to Franchise Times.
DEEP DIVE
The McPizza Era
What’s the secret to McDonald’s 40,000+ stores in 100+ countries?
Adapting the menu to local cuisine.
It’s why there’s Matcha McFlurry in Japan, spam breakfast platters in Hawaii, and McCrunchy bread with Nutella in Italy.
But there’s one item you can’t get anymore. PIZZA
Their expanded menu highlights reel goes something like this:
- Egg McMuffin: 1973
- Chicken McNuggets: 1983
- McPizza: 1989
That’s right: served in 500+ stores, McPizza was the crown jewel of a 15-year development plan.
And a total failure, discontinued by 2000.
The McPizza Failure
Back then, McDonald’s dominated the $48B burger market with a 40% share.
But they aimed to grab market share of a new pie: pizza.
At the time, Pizza Hut and independent pizza parlors were growing 10% every year.
Their goal? Make dinner as big as they made breakfast. In 1973, McDonald’s launched the Egg McMuffin to attract early-morning customers.
It was a HUGE success. So huge, that Egg McMuffin ushered in an entire breakfast menu that’s still thriving today.
Their new idea? Replicate this success for the post 4 PM customer: i.e. dinner.
The consensus was that customers weren’t turning to fast food for dinner, and pizza was what’s for dinner.
McPizza was first introduced in Indiana and Kentucky in 1989, alongside pasta to form an exclusive dinner menu.
Challenging the pizza chain industry.
The challenge ruffled Pizza Hut, prompting promos and “McFrozen” dough ads.
At its peak, estimates think McPizza was served in ~2k US franchises.
But there was a big issue. Their development plan overlooked McDonald’s business model: FAST food. Since 1948, McDonald’s “Speedee” assembly line system was built for a fast delivery of a limited menu of fried and cooked foods in 5-10 mins.
On a griddle. You can’t cook pizza on a griddle It took 11-16 mins in an oven; several pies took 20-30.
“So good, so fast”? Not quite.
McDonald’s spent years developing a patented oven that turned frozen dough into crispy pizza in under 6 min.
Speed was crucial to compete with established chains and local pizzerias, but they didn’t have it.
Not only were kitchens remodeled and ovens replaced, but windows too. McDonald’s pizza boxes were too big for drive-thru windows, so what did they do?
Expand every window. This actually happened, costing millions.
Execs also wanted a window for folks to watch McPizzas being made. Franchisees also remodeled to make way for new windows.
McPizza’s slow cook time clashed with McDonald’s fast-service reputation.
Rivals like Little Caesars constantly make pizzas, with warming ovens to keep them ready, like McDonald’s Speedee system but just for pizzas.
Given McDonald’s kitchen setup, this was 100% unachievable. In short, McPizza was a massively expensive failure that the company phased out by 2000.
Today, its legacy lives on in one location.
Order it from the world’s largest–18k sq ft–Orlando store 15 min from Disney, and tell us all about it.
Maybe dreams really do come true?
FRANCHISE HEADLINES
Paris Baguette’s New CDO Embraces Brand Potential
With his sights set on helping Paris Baguette reach its goal of 1,000 units by 2030, new Chief Development Officer Eric Lavinder has taken the mantle after the departure of previous CDO Mark Mele to Edible Brands.
“I think the potential to bring back those neighborhood cafes and neighborhood bakeries is something I can’t wait to help do across the country,” said Lavinder. “There’s really nothing that is the same type of niche that we’re hitting on.”
Fuzzy’s Signs 20-Unit Development Deal in Nevada
Multi-unit franchisee Mark Justice owes it to chance and circumstance the signing of a development agreement with Fuzzy’s Taco Shop to open 20 restaurants in Nevada.
It was at a Dine Brands event in Washington, D.C., earlier this year that Justice found himself sitting across from Paul Damico, the president of the Fort Worth, Texas-based fast-casual taco concept. The two franchise veterans apparently hit it off, which led to additional conversations and eventually a deal.
“Paul and I started chatting about the restaurant business and then Paul introduced me to Marc Rogers, a very successful Fuzzy’s franchisee in Colorado. That added to my intrigue in the potential for the brand,” Justice said in an email to Franchise Times.
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