McDonald’s Corp. is tweaking the test of its customized sandwich program as the company evaluates customer feedback, officials said Wednesday.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain has a new version of the custom burger test, called “Chef Crafted Sandwiches,” in about 200 restaurants. The program allows customers to choose their protein (burger, Buttermilk Crispy Chicken or grilled chicken), the flavor (maple bacon Dijon, pico guacamole or buffalo bacon) and bun (artisan roll or sesame seed).
The Chef Crafted test is different from the more comprehensive customized platform called Create Your Taste, which is also in test in about 130 locations across the U.S., said Lisa McComb, McDonald’s director of media relations.
Both, however, are among “active steps McDonald’s is taking to realize its vision of becoming a modern and progressive burger and breakfast restaurant,” McComb said.
The goal is to get feedback from customers, and McDonald’s is reworking the tests as responses come in.
An earlier version of Chef Crafted was called “Taste Crafted,” and is still in a small percentage of restaurants that wanted to complete the test and finish gathering data that could be used going forward, McComb said. Starting in the summer, however, McDonald’s shifted to the Chef Crafted name for the program, and new flavors were added.
McComb told Bloomberg that the Taste Crafted name didn’t resonate with consumers.
“We decided to celebrate our chefs who have created these recipes and highlight the culinary expertise of our in-house and supplier chefs,” she told Bloomberg.
The chain takes the customization experience much further with the Create Your Taste platform that was first revealed in Southern California in 2013, although it was called Build Your Burger at the time. Create Your Taste is also available at McDonald’s units in Australia.
Create Your Taste offers a more extensive choice of bun or lettuce wrap, as well as about 25 toppings and sauces, which customers can order from the front counter or at a touchscreen kiosk, McComb said.
Some Create Your Taste restaurants have a modernized design to reflect the local community, and orders are delivered to tables by a crew member using a locator device.
In some restaurants, a larger kiosk is used, and a crew member helps walk customers through their choices, McComb said. In others, the kiosk is more like a tablet on a pedestal.
“The Create Your Taste test is part of McDonald’s global effort to offer guests a personalized, customizable experience and provide a greater variety of ingredients and quality menu items,” McComb said.
Ultimately, the company is not ready to say whether either program will be rolled out nationwide, McComb said. The chain is preparing for the nationwide rollout of all-day breakfast by Oct. 6.
Correction: Oct. 1, 2015 An earlier version of this story had an incorrect name and description for the Taste Crafted and Chef’s Crafted Sandwiches programs. It also mischaracterized the use of kiosks in the tests. The story has been modified to include more detail from McDonald’s.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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