6 new drinks come to McDonald’s menus nationwide
NBC 5 Chicago • • business
Key Points:
- McDonald's is launching six new specialty drinks nationwide on Wednesday, including three "Refreshers" and three crafted sodas, featuring unique ingredients like freeze-dried fruit, cold foam, and popping boba.
- These new beverages aim to elevate McDonald's drink offerings to compete with rivals such as Starbucks and Dutch Bros, with the company emphasizing drinks as a key customer draw.
- McDonald's is introducing a new "beverage specialist" role at its 14,000 U.S. locations, where employees will focus exclusively on drink preparation, eventually rotating all staff through this position.
- The rollout coincides with McDonald's plan to phase out self-service soda machines by 2032, replacing them with crew-managed beverage stations to ensure a consistent customer experience.
- Additionally, McDonald's has collaborated with designer Susan Alexandra to offer six limited-edition beaded drink carriers alongside the new drinks.
