McDonald's Is Testing a New Healthy, High-Quality Food Concept – Just Not in the U.S. A revamped McCafe in Australia has opened as 'The Corner,' selling not burgers and fries, but brown rice and lentils.
By Kate Taylor
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
At this new McDonald's concept, you're more likely to eat brown rice and lentils than burgers and fries.
A former McCafe location in Sydney, Australia has been stripped of nearly all of McDonald's classic trademarks and reopened as 'The Corner by McCafe.' The trendy looking café serves up items absent from any other McDonald's menu, including chipotle pulled pork, lentil and eggplant salads and Moroccan roast chicken.
"We are committed to serving up real noticeable change at Macca's," says McDonald's spokesperson Becca Hary. "The Corner at McCafé is yet another example of this."
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The Corner is intended to be a "Learning Lab where we are testing completely new and different food and beverages never before seen in our restaurants," according to Hary. The test will be exclusive to Australia.
McDonald's most notable previous foray into the world of fast-casual dining is an investment in Chipotle back when the burrito chain was in its early stages of growth. McDonald's divested from Chipotle in 2006. Today, it seems like the burger chain could learn a thing or two from its former investment: in 2014, McDonald's had a resoundingly terrible financial year, while Chipotle's revenue skyrocketed.
The Corner isn't McDonald's only exploration into higher quality food. The chain debuted "Create Your Taste" platform in Australia as well as a very small test market in California, and will roll out the customized burger and chicken sandwich platform to 2,000 locations next year.
