McDonald's and the McCafe Coffee Initiative

While McDonald's breakfast and snack sales have been increasing, they have not kept pace with industry growth. The primary barrier to this sales growth in the Canadian market, according to a franchise owner, is the quality of the coffee. McDonald's in Canada has been attempting to build its coffee brand equity for many years. They had switched to the Higgins and Burke coffee but had little success changing customers' negative perceptions. To truly change customer perceptions, McDonald's needed to revolutionize their coffee program. McCafe was introduced in response to this coffee issue. McCafe was full service coffee bar, located in a McDonald's restaurant as an extension to the front counter or located as a stand-alone restaurant. Over 300 McCafes existed worldwide. While McDonald's would like to get a piece of the lucrative coffee market, McCafe's main objective was to eliminate coffee as a barrier to breakfast and snack sales. The question for one franchise owner is whether McCafe's strong initial sales can be sustained.