Taco Bell breakfast? McDonald's brings McGriddles to the breakfast war.
-
Scott Hume Guest blogger
No other chain has something like the McGriddle, McDonald鈥檚 pancake/muffin hybrid, which likely is why the chain has followed the coffee giveaway that ended yesterday with a new marketing push for McGriddle sandwiches.
This, much more than free coffee, is McDonald鈥檚 response not only to Taco Bell鈥檚 entry into the breakfast market but also to all the other competitive activity in the mornings. If menu innovation is going to be key to the competition, McDonald鈥檚 gladly will put McGriddles up against Taco Bell鈥檚 Waffle Taco and A.M. Crunchwrap. Who wins? McDonald鈥檚 average per-store sales are $1 million+ higher than the average Taco Bell鈥檚.
McDonald鈥檚 isn鈥檛 moving away entirely from its McCaf茅 coffee. New聽聽positions McGriddles as integral to the way some people take their coffee.聽聽promotion includes a site showcasing a series of life situations for which 鈥淥nce you get a McGriddles, you鈥檒l get it鈥� is the recurring tagline.
Interestingly, creation of McGriddles in 2003 is credited to then-SVP of Menu Management Tom Ryan. He since has founded McDonald鈥檚 fast-casual competitor Smashburger.
Americans made 12.5 billion restaurant visits for breakfast last year, making the morning meal the聽聽showing traffic growth for the third consecutive year, according to NPD Group data. Breakfast visits were up 3% while traffic for both lunch and dinner declined by 1%. Breakfast accounts for 21% of customer visits, according to NPD. In terms of sales, breakfast can be even more significant, accounting for 25% (as at McDonald鈥檚) or more. In the restaurant business鈥檚 slow-growth marketplace, those numbers mean breakfast is the time when gains in traffic and sales can be made, if at no other time.
That鈥檚 why there has been a flurry of new breakfast items. They haven鈥檛 come just to counter Taco Bell鈥檚 overanalyzed breakfast menu; more importantly they鈥檙e intended to increase share in what is now the most important daypart. Jack in the Box (which offers breakfast all day) last week added new聽聽sandwiches; Whataburger has added jalape艌o-spiked biscuits; Starbucks has a new line of upscale sandwiches.
