Ever wonder where new McDonald’s products like the Mac Snack Wrap come from?
The process of pitching an idea for a new McDonald’s menu item comes to life in the test kitchen.
“We guestimate 1,800 ideas a year we’re exposed to, not that they actually get tested,” said Dan Coudreaut, McDonald’s director of culinary innovation. Roughly three to five ideas a year are launched.
The Mac Snack Wrap, his most recent creation, launched in December and tastes like a Big Mac wrapped in a tortilla. His other inventions include the chicken Snack Wrap, the Angus burger, Southwest Salad, and McSkillet Burrito with Sausage, among others. He also developed the Asian Salad and Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which are no longer on the menu.
It starts with the business research and marketing teams identifying an area in which McDonald’s wants to increase its business. Then the bosses come to Coudreaut, who pulls together his brainstorming team of four chefs and chefs from McDonald’s suppliers.
“When we’re in that environment, I say, ‘Look, we close the door, there are no bad ideas in this kitchen,”’ he said.
Of about 30 ideas, the chefs cook and present about half of them to McDonald’s leadership, Coudreaut said.
A few move forward to focus groups, where a team of chefs goes to a city and makes the items to get customer feedback. If it does well, the concept goes to four or five restaurants to see if a staff can make it.
“I tell my team often that it really doesn’t matter what it looks like in this kitchen. If we can’t get it to a restaurant, then we’re just spinning our wheels, so it’s got to be something that can be achievable,” Coudreaut said.
The length of time it takes to get an idea on the menu varies, he said.
The original Snack Wrap took about a year, he said, while there are products that he’s been working on for three years — about the time it took to get McGriddles on the menu.
