McDonald’s may have found a workaround solution for its notoriously broken ice cream machines, but its espresso machines are now causing some issues. Melitta, the manufacturer behind many of the chain’s CT8 espresso machines, has advised operators to stop using them while it investigates a faulty component.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the issue Tuesday morning, which McDonald’s confirmed in an email to Nation’s Restaurant News.
“Our supplier, Melitta, informed all of their customers of a potential equipment safety risk for one of its machines. We have moved quickly to decommission these machines in restaurants and are staying in contact with our supplier to safely resolve the issue,” McDonald’s said in a statement.
McDonald’s is still determining the scope of restaurants impacted, but NRN can confirm the Louisville, Ky., market is impacted. The company also notes that a limited number of beverages from the chain’s menu are expected to be impacted. Espresso-based items such as hot and iced lattes may not be available in certain restaurants until the issue is resolved. Non-espresso-based beverages, including hot and iced brewed coffee, are not affected by the outage.
There are 21 coffees listed on McDonald’s McCafé menu, and most are cappuccinos, lattes, and macchiatos, as well as an Americano, which is also espresso-based.
“Melitta Professional Coffee Solution, to proactively ensure safety, has recommended a temporary stop use for the affected customers of the Melitta CT8 Espresso Machine. We are investigating the two impacted machines. Our intent is to determine the root cause and provide a remediation plan that allows us to move forward,” a Melitta spokesperson said in a statement.
Notably, this outage comes on the heels of McDonald’s partnership with Doodles for its “GM Spread Joy” campaign, offering customers who purchase any Doodles McCafé coffee the opportunity to unlock exclusive digital collectibles for a limited time.
The company has also shared its ambitions in the past year to develop a more robust coffee business, as the category continues to grow at a material clip. During McDonald’s Investor Day event last year, Jo Sempels, president of International Developmental Licensed Markets, called coffee a “very attractive category” because of that growth, as well as its high profitability and consumer habituation. For its part, McDonald’s McCafe is 30 years old, and the company sells nearly 8 million cups of coffee a day.
“That makes us the number two coffee player globally,” Sempels said. “While we’ve had success, we still haven’t realized our full global potential.”
To do this, McDonald’s plans to break down disparities across its global markets, better leverage its scale advantages, lead with food, and address “known gaps in consistency.”
“First and foremost, we’ll establish McCafe as part of our core menu offering and as our only brand for coffee at McDonald’s,” Sempels said. “Next, we’ll address inconsistencies in availability, experience, and taste by reducing over 100 types of equipment to a smaller list of only five global suppliers. This will ensure gold-standard execution around the world while still giving markets the flexibility to address local tastes and preferences.”
The company is also focusing more on cold coffee, which is experiencing a staggering increase in demand.
“We are developing a plan on how to best adapt and execute against cold coffee beverages and that plan will provide convenience, value, and a high-quality taste synonymous with McDonald’s,” Sempels said. “We’re giving our customers even more reasons to visit.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
