McDonald's brings back baked goods after 8 years: it's the donut-shaped recovery
Breakfast is back, baby... At least, according to Mickey D’s index. McDonald’s is adding baked goods to its permanent menu for the 1st time in eight years. The star pastries: apple fritter, blueberry muffin and cinnamon roll. This news might sound like empty calories – but it's actually a pretty big deal for McD's, which has focused on trimming its menu during the pandemic:
- Breakfast was the most disrupted meal of the corona-conomy. You ditched the Starbs bagel for WFH cereal, so a.m. sales at major chains plunged.
- Lost breakfast traffic accounted for over half of McDonald’s US sales declines in May. Meanwhile: General Mills and Pepsi thrived as you stocked on Lucky Charms and Quaker Oats again.
Breakkie is the most important meal of the day... for fast-food restaurants. Chains from Taco Bell to Shake Shack have dished out big to make it a priority. Starbucks and Dunkin' have been upselling protein-stuffed breakfast sandwiches. Wendy’s breakfast launched nationwide before lockdowns, and it already made up 8% of the chain's sales last quarter.
A donut-shaped recovery?... There are lots of ways you can gauge how the economy is doing, from unemployment numbers to GDP data. Donuts might be worth adding to the list. Rising chain-store breakfast sales suggest people are commuting more and hoarding less. The fact that McDonald's and Taco Bell are investing to revive breakfast could be a sign of sweeter times.