- McDonald’s Quarter Pounder has been linked to a deadly E. coli outbreak in 10 states.
- The fast-food chain overhauled its famous burger in 2018 — then reported a surge in sales.
- Now, McDonald’s says it’s temporarily removing the Quarter Pounder from its menus.
McDonald’s effort to revamp the Quarter Pounder in recent years — switching to fresh beef and pushing a marketing campaign complete with “I’d rather eat a Quarter Pounder” stickers — hit a snag this week with an E. coli outbreak related to the sandwich.
Golden Arches’ focus on the classic Quarter Pounder since its 2018 revamp had paid off — leading to a 50% increase in sales in the first month after its introduction, the company said at the time.
And since then, the Quarter Pounder and other “classics” like the Big Mac have accounted for more than 70% of food sales in recent years in McDonald’s major markets, an executive said.
This underscores how important the Quarter Pounder is to McDonald’s — and why it will want to address the issue of food safety quickly.
Investors also understand the significance: McDonald’s shares fell sharply late Tuesday after the company said it would temporarily remove hamburgers from menus in a number of states across the US.
“The Quarter Pounder is incredibly important to McDonald’s product line,” John A. Gordon, founder of Pacific Management Consulting Group and an analyst at the chain’s restaurants, told Business Insider after news of the E. coli outbreak.
He said a potential hit to the Quarter Pounder’s reputation could negatively impact sales — and pose a challenge to McDonald’s overall brand in the short term.
In an internal message posted on the company’s website Tuesday, Cesar Piña, head of North American supply chain, said McDonald’s is taking “swift and decisive” action in response to the outbreak. Piña said the illnesses may be linked to the chopped onions used in the Quarter Pounder. He said those onions are sourced from a single supplier that serves three distribution centers.
McDonald’s Quarter Pounder now uses fresh beef after its 2018 revamp. Getty Images
Revamping a McDonald’s fan favorite
The Quarter Pounder dates back to 1971 when franchisee Al Bernardin created the burger at his store in Fremont, California, naming the sandwich for its pre-cooked heft.
In March 2018, the company announced that it would stop using frozen beef patties for its Quarter Pounders and switch to fresh meat instead. It came as competitors like Wendy’s were using fresh meat — and upstarts like Shake Shack were starting to catch customers’ attention.
The transition to a new Quarter Pounder included the addition of new cookware and refrigerators at the company’s locations and an advertising campaign complete with a commercial featuring the voice of John Goodman.
At the time, McDonald’s President Chris Kempczinski called the Quarter Pounder overhaul “the most significant change to our system and restaurant operations since All Day Breakfast.”
A year after its release, the company said in the first quarter of 2019 it sold 40 million more Quarter Pounds than in the same quarter a year earlier.
The chain doesn’t release sales figures for individual menu items, but presentations to investors in recent years show how important “classics” like the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac are to the business.
In 2020, Ian Borden, then president of McDonald’s international division—and now CFO—said that long-time menu items represented about 70% of food sales in its core markets. “Our flagship classics are the heart of our business,” he said at the time.
The Quarter Pounder is equally important to McDonald’s from a branding perspective. The Golden Arches sold an entire product line dedicated to her – t-shirts, gloves, calendars and other merchandise, including the “I’d Better Eat …” sticker.
E. coli outbreak has killed one, CDC says
The CDC said Tuesday that the E. coli outbreak has 49 confirmed cases in 10 states, though it said the extent of the disease is likely to be greater. So far, 10 people have been hospitalized and one person has died, the CDC said.
While Gordon, the analyst, said the affected stores are likely to experience a drop in sales, he said the company’s overall outlook is not bleak.
“Having one menu item on the ‘bad’ list, shall we say, doesn’t doom the whole brand,” he said, citing other fast-food chains that have bounced back from food safety incidents over time. , including Chipotle in 2015. and Jack-in-the-Box in the 1990s.
The name McDonald’s alone is worth a lot — it ranks as the fifth most valuable brand based on a Kantar survey from earlier this year. It is the only food company in the Top 10.
Still, Gordon said repairing the Quarter Pounder’s damaged reputation means McD’s has some work to do. For now, he said, don’t expect to see the classic sandwich in any promotions — the Quarter Pounder will be in the marketing market for now.
“Let the heat of the fire burn,” he said.