When it comes to fast food success, nothing beats McDonald's. They seem to have found the magic touch for capturing that taste buds of people all over the world, even in countries that don't eat beef, like India, or those that prefer rice, like the entire Asian region.
But contrary to popular belief, not everything sold under the Golden Arches sells. Here are nine true-to-life McDonald's products that actually flopped!
1. Hulaburger. The big tragedy of this one was that it was such a favorite of Ray Kroc. He invented it himself to cater to Roman Catholics who avoided meat on Fridays. So Kroc took the meat out of the cheeseburger and replaced it with - guess what? - a pineapple! It was tested in 1963 and, well, it failed dismally. Eventually, McDonald's decided to promote the Filet-o-Fish instead.
2. Arch Deluxe. After years of selling to children, McDonald's decided in 1996 to try to sell to adults. So they designed a very "mature" burger, with a quarter pound beef patty, red onions, lettuce, tomato, and a special honey-mustard sauce, all sandwiched inside a potato roll. For a little extra charge, you could be more chic and have peppered bacon added to the pack.
Well, apparently, we McDonald's lovers aren't a very chic group after all. The mature honey-mustard sandwiched flopped, while the cheeseburger lives on.
3. Fried Roast Beef Sandwiches. Ooh, roast beef! Sounds good, huh? Can you imagine how something like that could flop? Well, technically, it didn't. It's just that it cost so much to produce, it was bringing the company to the brink of a financial disaster. It didn't flop for the customers. It flopped for McDonald's.
4. McPizza. In the late 80s and early 90s, the McPizza would have made McDonald's the ultimate one-stop shop for fastfood. There was just one problem: Pizza isn't very fast. For people used to zipping in and out of McDonald's, the waiting time for the pizza to be cooked and served just was too much of a change. Hey, if I wanted to wait, I would have gone to Pizza Hut, right?
5. The Dinner Menu. Tested during the early 1990s, the Dinner Menu featured entrees of pizza, spaghetti, fettucine alfredo, lasagna, and roasted chicken. For side dishes, it had vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy. And for dessert, there was brownie a la mode. For the same reason why the Arch Deluxe didn't click, the Dinner Menu also flopped. I guess class and fast food just don't mix very well. Give me back my Happy Meal!
6. Chicken Fajitas. This was a small tortilla pocket with grilled chicken and vegetables. Considering how much McDonald's patrons love Big Macs, I can't imagine why McDonald's would think we'd be satisfied with such a tiny thing as this.
7. Salad Shakers. One of McDonald's efforts to offer fast and healthy food, the salad shakers started out a huge success - until people got tired of scraping the dressing off the covers of their shakers.
8. McAfrica. This pita bread sandwich with beef and veggies didn't taste bad at all, so I've heard. It was just unlucky that it was released in 2002, at a time when Africa was in famine and a lot of people felt it was adding insult to injury - perhaps it would have fared better if it had been differently named.
9. McLean Deluxe. This is the great McDonald's irony: People criticize it for being unhealthy, but when it comes up with a healthy product, people refuse to buy! Released in 1991, the McLean Deluxe was as disgustingly healthy as a sandwich could get: Ninety-one percent fat free, it replaced fat with water and used seaweed extract to bind the water to the beef. Well people didn't like the new fat-free burger because, after all, it's fat that makes burgers taste so good. The healthy McDonald's burger flopped, which just goes to show how health conscious we McDonald's eaters really are!
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Now for a list of McDonald's products that did sell, you might want to check out this link:
McDonald’s Strange Menu Around the World. So you think you know the McDonald's menu like the back of your hand? Think again. From McDonald's international, here are some menu items you have probably never tried before.
-thestickman