McDonald's to trial barista coffee as sales continue to soar

The fast food giant had its second highest day of sales on record in May, and in June the best ever day for guest counts.

McDonald’s attributes its strong growth success during a time of fragile consumer confidence to a number of factors, with but says its coffee offering has been a key sales driver.

“Coffee drinkers are our most frequent customers and people may be surprised to know that we are second in this market,” says chief executive officer Paul Pomroy.

The company is currently trialling barista-made coffee in selected London restaurants, and will be expanding the trials to restaurants in the East Midlands due to the success it is seeing in the capital.

New menu innovations are also driving profit, with the Mini McFlurry outperforming projections, says Pomroy. The company has introduced a grilled chicken wrap in response to parents’ concerns about the lack of non-fried options on the Happy Meal menu, and now serves a selection of fruit options; smoothies; and salads.

In efforts to invest in and improve the company, the fast food chain has introduced table service to its restaurants as well as rolling out its Experience the Future programme – where ordering can be done via apps on tablets instore - to better its service.

“As we enter the second half of the year we must stay laser focused on doing right by our customers and our people, and continuing to invest for the long term,” says Pomroy.

Global second quarter profit for the company rose to $1.5 billion from $1.4 billion the year before as revenue fell to $5.4 billion from $6 billion. McDonald’s says revenue as a whole is falling as the company sells off some of its restaurants to franchise holders.