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Fierce competition in coffee market McCafe wants to challenge Starbucks

Published: 2026-05-14 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/05/14, The merger of Burger King and Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons is not the only fast-food chain to have trouble upgrading its coffee business. Burger King (Burger King) teamed up with coffee retailer Seattles Best Coffee in 2013 to launch 10 new drinks, including flavored lattes, but the launch was unsuccessful. Burger King later worked with Canada

Burger King merges with Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons

McDonald's is not the only fast-food chain having trouble upgrading its coffee business. Burger King (Burger King) teamed up with coffee retailer Seattle's Best Coffee in 2013 to launch 10 new drinks, including flavored lattes, but the launch was unsuccessful. Burger King later merged with Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, but each retained its original brand.

Two dollar drinks on sale

While reviving the McCafe brand, McDonald's plans to continue to highlight its price advantage over Starbucks. Cunningham said the company plans to launch $1 drip coffee and $2 small special drinks in the first quarter of 2017.

McDonald's, which has 14000 stores in the United States, said in October that all coffee ingredients it buys will be sustainable by 2020. Another example of McDonald's resembling Starbucks is that the company plans to launch a nationwide pumpkin latte in the fall of 2016, the first such aggressive move in three years.

McDonald's first independent McCafe store

McDonald's first independent McCafe store opened in Toronto in 2015, a move the company said "demonstrates McDonald's commitment to improving the coffee shop experience of its customers." Today, every McDonald's store in Canada offers American coffee and espresso. McCafe stores even launched in-store baked McCafe snacks.

Cunningham also said that in the United States, McDonald's is upgrading its espresso machine, which can make drinks with a more consistent export flavor. The new equipment also has better foaming technology to prepare a wider variety of drinks at a cost of about $12000 each.

But McDonald's diners are usually low-and middle-income people and don't like to taste fresh coffee, said Will Slabaugh, an analyst at Stephens, a financial services firm. Consumers want something they can afford and are familiar with.

"reviving the brand will be a slow and difficult process for McDonald's, especially in today's environment where consumers expect discounts," Mr. Slabau said. "I don't think it's going to arouse a lot of interest from consumers."

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