McDonald’s May Start Selling Organics, Aiming To Lure Customers Back To The Golden Arches

McDonald’s fast food execs have new plans brewing, including adding organic items to the menu, in an attempt to woo back its customers after very disappointing quarterly earnings. According to AdWeek, McDonald’s reported over a 3 percent quarterly profit decline this week. McDonald’s is reporting the worst performance the fast food giant has exhibited in years. Earlier this year, McDonald’s tried changing the look of Ronald McDonald, but parents still weren’t buying it, an earlier Inquisitr report explained.

The Wall Street Journal reported a greater than 4 percent decline in same-store McDonald’s sales, and said the company hasn’t seen such disappointing same-store sales since February of 2003. Meanwhile, the public is dining at food chains that offer non-GMO promises and organic options in greater numbers.

“McDonald’s execs might take a cue from rival Chipotle Mexican Grill, which posted 20 percent growth in the third quarter. Chipotle restaurants feature a Fresh Mex menu that offers customers a choice of ingredients to customize their orders as well as organic beans and tofu in its Sofritas for vegans,” AdWeek reported.

The Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald’s is struggling in Asia and Europe as well. Reports say that McDonald’s leaders will be “taking a cue from Chipotle,” in fact.

“You’ll see us in some categories looking to different products, possibly organics,” Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s Don Thompson told a Bloomberg reporter on a conference call. “We actually are doing it in certain markets.”

McDonald’s already uses some organic products in other countries, according to Bloomberg. For example, Becca Hary, a McDonald’s spokeswoman, said that organic fruit juice is already available to McDonald’s customers in Germany and France.

The Wall Street Journal also blamed an increasingly complicated McDonald’s menu for customers leaving the restaurant. As they left McDonald’s, the WSJ claims they “defected to fast-casual chains boasting customized ordering and fresh ingredients.”

Whatever the cause of the decline, McDonald’s execs are considering adding organic items to a more simplified menu that can be customized. Besides considering organic options, McDonald’s has also started a new campaign that focuses on transparency of how the fast food is made, according to a recent report from Inquisitr. The first short installment of introducing the public to the inside of a McDonald’s processing plant didn’t show the making of chicken nuggets to address the old reports that they are made from “pink slime,” but it did show how McDonald’s all beef patties are made. Pink slime is addressed on the corporate website though. (Spoiler: No pink slime.)

“We recognize that we must demonstrate to our customers and the entire McDonald’s system that we understand the problems we face and are taking decisive action to fundamentally change the way we approach our business,” Thompson said.

McDonald’s is even focusing on sustainability now.

Time Magazine reported that besides adding transparency and considering organic options, McDonald’s plans to expand its build-a-burger program called “Create Your Taste” in an attempt to boost profits and bring customers back to dine beneath its Golden Arches.

[Photo via McDonald’s]