The American hamburger and fast food company McDonald’s (MCD, Financial) had decided to bring back its Szechuan sauce, this time in greater quantities and availability than it had previously brought back in October for one day. The inadequate supply of the same led to riots back then. The company badly underestimated demand, making the customers furious.Â
"Our super-limited batch, though well-intentioned, clearly wasn’t near enough to meet that demand. We disappointed fans and we are sorry," the company said. "We did not anticipate the overnight crowds, the cross-state travel and the amazing curiosity, passion and energy fans showed.”
Bird’s-eye view
McDonald’s Szechuan sauce was initially released in 1998, inspired by the U.S. adult science-fiction animation comedy Rick and Morty.
The chain said this year it would give 20 million packets to the stores, which would be available on Feb. 26 at all U.S. restaurants. As a matter of fact, the company said that its promotional of bringing back sauce to all the 14,000 U.S. stores will come to an end once the supply runs out. McDonald’s said that stores with higher customer traffic will get more packets compared to stores with smaller traffic.
Amidst the promotion of Szechuan sauce, the seasonal green-dyed, mint-flavoured milkshake dessert Shamrock Shake has also returned to the stores on Feb. 21. Such is the popularity of Shamrock Shake. Considering the high-tech touch, the fast food chain will bring out an official Shamrock Shake Finder app for smartphones this year. This app will help consumers find the nearest stores selling the particular drink.
McDonald’s has been expanding its beverage offering in recent times. In September 2017, its McCafe lineup grew with the addition of new hand-crafted drinks — caramel macchiato, Americano and three flavors of cappuccino. On another positive note, the hamburger giant is partnering with Coca-Cola (KO, Financial) to sell ready-to-drink caramel-, mocha- and vanilla-flavored McCafé Frappé drinks.
Last word
The company remains hopeful of boosting its sales by capitalizing on the craziness of Rick and Morty and Szechuan sauce.
Other plans of the company include opening 1,000 new stores globally. Technologically, too, the company is making progress as is evident from the fact that it has installed self-service Kiosks at some locations.
Disclosure: I do not hold any position in the stock mentioned in this article.
