McDonald's to launch premium burger to intercept the competition

McDonald’s, world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, began to launch a premium range of burgers in Britain to head off growing competition from rival chains such as Five Guys and Shake Shack.

The Signature Collection burgers will include the thickest ever patty sold by McDonald’s. They have been developed in conjunction with chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants.

The new burgers will be trialled at 28 restaurants in London, the south and Manchester before being rolled out to 400 McDonald’s restaurants by next summer.

They could also be sold in McDonald’s restaurants around the world if they prove popular in the UK. The company is facing growing competition from gourmet burger chains, particularly in the US where Five Guys and Shake Shack were founded. These burgers will be served in brioche-style buns and will cost £4.69.

McDonald’s is taking advantage of its new table service system to launch the burgers. The extra thickness of the meat means customers will have to wait for their burger to be served, in contrast to the company’s traditional hamburgers and Big Macs.

Duncan Cruttenden, food development director said the burgers had been developed with the help of customer feedback and with the company’s internal chef council, which includes those who have worked at Michelin-starred restaurants.

“When the chef council started to develop this new premium offering, we worked with a brief generated by our customers – they told us they wanted thicker beef patties and high quality ingredients, freshly prepared.

“We’ve crafted a range that is a truly exciting permanent addition to our menu – every product has to earn a place and our customers have told us the signature collectionmCd has done just that.”