McDonald’s just recently introduced Frappes to its menu in an attempt to dive deeper into the specialty drink market. It began with premium coffee at a lower price than Starbucks and expanded into iced coffee and lattes.
Now McDonald’s is taking another plunge into the Starbucksphere. It is going to introduce Smoothies to its menu. This is aimed at consumers who stop at Starbucks and other specialty coffee retailers and convenience stores during the middle of the day to get a drink. It is hoping that the Smoothie sales will increase its revenue, as did the specialty coffee drinks. Specialty coffee is a $13 billion market in the USA, says the Specialty Coffee Association. Coffee sales at McDonald’s have jumped double digits every year since 2006, when it rolled out premium coffee.
