McDonald’s New Breakfast Items Are Just Meatier McMuffins

Breakfast has long been a bright spot for McDonald’s, and the fast-food titan is leaning into that: On November 1, the chain will unveil triple-meat breakfast sandwiches, its first significant addition to the breakfast menu in over 10 years. Called Triple Breakfast Stacks, the new limited-time-only sandwiches are juiced-up versions of the classic Egg McMuffin, breakfast biscuit, and McGriddle, with each one containing two sausage patties and bacon.

The burger brand says the sandwiches were inspired by “menu hacks” customers came up with. “People have been hacking our menu for years,” Mike Haracz, a culinary innovation chef for the company said in a release, noting that future menu additions might feature customer ideas, as well.

That strategy mimics Taco Bell’s, which frequently unveils new menu items that evolved out of customer requests. That’s what happened at McDonald’s in 2013 when the chain released the Egg White Delight McMuffin thanks to popular demand. “Our customers have also told us they have been craving a bigger, more filling sandwich option in the mornings,” Linda VanGosen, VP of menu innovation said of the new, meatier sandwiches, in a release. (The sandwiches will certainly pack more calories: The regular morning Sausage McMuffin with Egg, featuring one sausage patty, clocks in at 480 calories, 30 grams of fat, and 35 percent of the diner’s daily value of sodium. To that, a Triple Stack would add an additional sausage patty, an additional slice of cheese, and bacon.)

Breakfast is big business for McDonald’s: The launch of all-day breakfast in the fall of 2015 helped lift the chain out of a years-long sales slump, as the scores of people who had long complained about the 10:30 a.m. cutoff breakfast time could finally get their McGriddles and hash browns ‘round the clock — but that seems to have weakened sales before noon. Back in June, CFO Kevin Ozan began talking about how the chain intended to focus on breakfast again: “...With everything else going on, we just lost a little focus on that breakfast daypart,” he said, according to a transcript obtained by USA Today.

Even though the morning hours are responsible for more than a quarter of the chain’s overall sales, CEO Steve Easterbrook acknowledged some desire for improvement on an earnings call earlier this week. “We want to do better at breakfast,” Easterbrook said, adding that he hoped the new sandwiches would help “reenergize” morning sales. Part of that renewed focus on breakfast also apparently involves stepping up its coffee game: Earlier this month, the chain began testing cold brew at dozens of stores in San Diego.

• Leaked Documents Reveal McDonald’s Is Expanding Its Breakfast Menu [BI]