McDonald's Expands Build-Your-Own-Burger Menu Trials

It looks like McDonald's is taking inspiration from Burger King's "you can have it your way" slogan: The chain plans to expand its build-your-own-burger test to "many more locations." According to Bloomberg, the burger chain — which is facing its "worst sales slump in a decade" — is currently experimenting with the concept at four locations across Southern California.

Businessweek writes that the test allows customers to pick everything from the number of beef patties, to the type of bread (artisan roll, bakery-style bun), to a slew of toppings including grilled mushrooms, bacon, spicy mayo, and even chili lime tortilla strips and guacamole. The chain is hoping to to "discover popular combinations" that it can "export to the rest of the country." Bloomberg notes that the DIY-style menu will be "taken to additional markets" but specific regions have not yet been named.

With McDonald's Russia all but dead, a play for brunch on the table, and a sales slump dominating the news cycle, it appears as though McDonald's is desperate for ideas. This past Summer, McDonald's Australia turned to social media to crowdsource two new burger options. The sandwiches were built "with ingredients consumers voted on" in a Facebook poll. The chain even asked Facebook users to come up with a name for the burgers, which ended up being dubbed McMates. Could this be McDonald's way of competing with industry success stories like The Counter and Chipotle?

· McDonald's Considers Expanding Test [Bloomberg]
· McDonald's Crowdsourcing Burger [Businessweek]
· All McDonald's Coverage on Eater [-E-]