The more than 700 McDonald’s restaurants in the Chicago region on Tuesday will introduce iced coffee at prices below those charged by other coffee houses.
McDonald’s versions, which have been undergoing tests on the East Coast, will be available in vanilla and Hazelnut flavors in addition to regular coffee.
“We’re not a coffee house where we are everything to everybody,” said Doug Goare, vice president and general manager of the Chicago region.
In a bid to win customers away from Starbucks and other coffee houses, McDonald’s will charge $1.69 for a 24 ounce glass, and a $1.99 for a 32 ounce glass. Starbucks charges $2.20 for a comparable sized glass of iced coffee.
Goare said the McDonald’s iced coffee will be available year around in its Chicago region which stretches from Champaign to Milwaukee.
McDonald’s is attempting to tap into the growing consumption of iced coffee. According to the National Coffee Association, the iced coffee category grew 16 percent from 2-0004 to 2005. The association estimates that more than 41 million Americans switch to iced coffee during spring and summer.
FranchiseBrief.com on May 1st, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Is McDonalds trying to compete with Starbucks??