By RF
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Update
McDonald’s posted higher results in the second quarter of 2023, continuing to benefit from higher menu prices. Наталия Кузина / stock.adobe.com
The fast food chain now offers two sizes for its Big Tasty, without all restaurants having adjusted their prices downwards for the smaller of the two.
The change has not gone unnoticed. “What do you mean the Big Tasty is the Big Mac bread now?!?!!!!!», exclaims an Internet user on the social network X (Twitter). “What is this change in size of the Big Tasty at McDonald’s???», exclaims another. Disappointed reactions can be read in spades since the return a few days ago of the Big Tasty to the menu of 1,550 restaurants McDonald’s of France.
The American fast-food chain has decided to change the recipe of its iconic burger, known for its sauce and its rather hearty character. The novelty lies in the fact that the Big Tasty is also offered in “two meats» now, with a slightly higher caloric intake and therefore a higher price. The traditional Big Tasty, for its part, saw its calorie intake – and therefore its size – drop, from 868 to 663 calories. The bread for both sandwiches has also changed.
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Rising results
It didn’t take much longer for the controversy to swell. Some Internet users explicitly accuse McDonald’s of “shrinkflation” , this practice of certain agri-food manufacturers consisting in reducing the size of a product without the price being modified downwards. Contacted, the fast-food chain denies this. “In the version of the Big Tasty with only one meat, it is offered, on average, at a price more accessible to the consumer”she replies.
Except that the observation is not verified everywhere. Prices are not set uniformly by McDonald’s management, but directly by franchised restaurants who have free rein. The price of a burger can therefore vary considerably from one McDonald’s to another. And some restaurants have apparently not reduced the price of their Big Tasty in proportion to the resizing of the product. “We recommended restaurants reduce the price, the overwhelming majority did so. Perhaps some have not followed these recommendations.», Estimates the American company.
McDonald’s posted higher results in the second quarter of 2023, continuing to benefit from higher menu prices. From April to the end of June, same-store sales, the benchmark indicator in the sector which excludes exchange rate fluctuations and only includes stores open for at least 13 months, increased by 11.7% .