America is changing its attitude toward restaurants, and it’s motivating McDonald’s to make a cosmic change.
In late 2023, McDonald’s Corporation opened its first CosMc’s location — a beverage-focused restaurant with offerings that could let it compete with Starbucks or Dunkin’. And, on the surface, the menus seem fairly comparable.
Dig deeper and you’ll see CosMc’s hopes to offer a different experience than its competitors because it knows preferences are changing. As Starbucks is designing new, handcrafted drinks and premium treats to lure customers in, CosMc’s is churning out drinks with the intent of getting customers out the door.
CosMc’s out-of-this-world concept
When CosMc’s was announced, it attracted a lot of attention for its design concept. The restaurant aims to offer an experience that’s less personal than McDonald’s’ namesake restaurants, and the business believes this is the future of the food service industry.
The restaurant also adopted a futuristic design — which is a bit ironic when you look at its mascot. It’s named for CosMc, an alien who visited McDonaldland and appeared in McDonald’s ads from 1986 through 1992. Then, the brand retired the character until 2023.
It makes sense that McDonald’s wanted to playfully infused an old-school mascot into CosMc’s branding because 2023 was a strong year for another character — Grimace.
It also makes sense that the new chain would look at a past mascot to plan its future. In the early 2010s, a time long after CosMc initially retired, McDonald’s restaurants underwent an upscale redesign. The chain wanted to make locations more comfortable and move away from its former cafeteria-style image. Now, CosMc’s is returning with a model that encourages customers to get in, get their drinks, and get out.
The company didn’t make this decision because it’s lazy; this is what customers want. CosMc’s is a brand designed for the next generation of consumers, led by young Millennials and Gen Z. It’s built on trends that will guide the fast food and food service industries in the 2020s and beyond.
It’s a no-cafe cafe
If you want to meet a friend and grab a drink, CosMc’s isn’t the place for you. The restaurant is designed for people on-the-go, and there are no tables, seats, or restrooms (based on the initial location in Bolingbrook, Illinois). In fact, you can’t even place your order at the counter because it doesn’t exist.
CosMc’s is designed to be a transactional restaurant, and the goal is for customers to place their orders and get their items as efficiently as possible. To do this, it will use kiosk screens instead of baristas to take orders. This may be faster, it also reduces the pleasantries that have made cafes feel welcoming.
While other beverage-focused restaurants are reducing their cafes and implementing technology as a substitute for cashiers, CosMc’s goes all-in on this trend, hoping to benefit customers looking for speedy service.
Low cost, no-frill drinks
If you see fewer staff members and amenities at CosMc’s, it’s part of cost-cutting measures. Compared to other beverage-focused restaurants, the prices are somewhat less expensive. Here are some benchmarks, as of early 2024:
- Medium (Grande) cold brew: CosMc’s: $4.19; Starbucks: $4.75; Dunkin’: $4.60
- Medium iced coffee: CosMc’s: $2.99; Starbucks: $4.45; Dunkin’: $4.05
- Medium hot coffee: CosMc’s: $2.19; Starbucks: $3.45; Dunkin’: $3.10
CosMc’s menu extends beyond these basic drinks, but other items will likely be cheaper than comparable selections from other chains. The goal is to undercut competitors’ prices and appeal to consumers who are spending less at restaurants.
Inflation is impacting the fast food industry, and as the cost of dining out continues to rise, customers will make compromises. While other chains may be focused on fancier and novel offerings, CosMc’s is focused on creating a lean business model that will lure in savvy customers.
It’s familiar everywhere
Right now, CosMc’s is preparing to open its second and third stores, but it plans to expand rapidly. The intergalactic beverage chain wants to have 1,000 locations in the US by 2027 — but that pales in comparison to its global objective. McDonald’s Corporation aims to open 50,000 stores worldwide in that time frame.
This is an important number because Starbucks has roughly 40,000 stores in the world, and CosMc’s could overtake the coffee giant in a relatively short times, which would get the whole world buzzing about the brand.
Of course, there will still be small, local coffee shops, but this huge number of CosMc’s stores indicates a desire for uniformity — or “global appeal,” as McDonald’s calls it. In the 2010s, young people were trending toward visiting small, indie cafes. If CosMc’s becomes a success, it will show that some people just want dependable coffee, not a novel experience.
The beverage industry becomes more lucrative
During a trip to CosMc’s, you’ll find coffee drinks akin to Starbucks or Dunkin’, but that’s only part of the menu. Customers will also find teas, slushes, lemonades, and energy drinks.
These offerings are an attempt to attract customers who crave non-coffee beverages, a strategy that’s been working for chains like Dutch Bros. If the plan works, it will help McDonald’s have a bigger presence in the beverage industry. This sector tends to produce larger profit margins — up to 80% — which is significantly higher than when selling food.
Perhaps the financial incentives have contributed to Gen Z’s changes in beverage habits. Young people are willing to go out to buy non-alcoholic drinks, and they start drinking coffee at younger ages than ever before. Not only does this mean they’re willing to get drinks at restaurants like CosMc’s, but they’re not limiting their purchases to morning hours.
Tech interaction before human interaction
Like most new developments, technology is going to play a huge role at CosMc’s. While the first restaurants haven’t integrated a smartphone app or online ordering yet, it will play a major role as the brand expands.
Customers have become accustomed to ordering through apps, but digital menus will also become part of the to-go ecosystem. Then, more technology will be used to quickly get products into customers’ hands at drive-thru lanes. While this will streamline the customer journey, it also means employees will have less-designed roles than at a flagship McDonald’s.
Will CosMc’s take over the world?
CosMc’s is just getting ready to blast off, and McDonald’s seems to be betting on the fact that consumer trends are changing. People are no longer looking for “third places” like Starbucks — a gathering place that isn’t a home or office. Rather, they want to grab a drink and get away from the cafe.
McDonald’s has bold ambitions for their new concept, though it only opened one store in 2023. The brand is in the process of opening 10 stores in Texas in 2024, but this is still a far cry from the worldwide target of 50,000.
As restaurants start multiplying, it indicates changes to the beverage industry. Trends from the 2010s are reverting to a less-sophisticated experience. CosMc’s is built on the idea that people just want to pay for their drinks and food. They’re not looking for a hangout spot, comfortable seating, and fast WiFi.
Perhaps this is out of necessity — because customers know nice amenities are baked into the price of their food and drinks, and restaurants are getting alarmingly expensive. Or, this could simply be a generational preference, and young people are tired of the experiences they grew up with. Regardless of the reason, the restaurant industry will be significantly disrupted if McDonald’s invades the world with 50,000 CosMc’s stores.
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