McDonald's Plans to Roll Out a Major Upgrade to Its Burgers

The company is trying to keep up with higher-end burger chains like Shake Shack and Five Guys.

McDonald's is planning to roll out some major changes in the near future, and among them will be burgers you can really sink your teeth into.

The company announced during an investor event on Wednesday that bigger burgers are coming. "We’ve listened to our customers. And we understand their desire for larger, high-quality burgers that fill you up," said Jo Sempels, the head of McDonald’s brand-licensed markets. He explained that McDonald’s will initially test options in limited markets and then broadly roll out the best option.

CEO Chris Kempczinski likewise told CNN that "having a larger burger is an opportunity" in both U.S. markets and around the globe. "We’re working on that," he promised. "That is something that you should expect in the future."

But even with inflation driving up the price of fast food, customers shouldn't expect the revamped burgers to hit them in the wallet. "We think we’re going to be able to deliver a great tasting large burger at a superior value to what [customers] can get anywhere else," Kempczinski added.

The announcement of bigger burgers comes as McDonald's is strategizing ways to keep up with higher-end, fast-casual burger chains such as Shake Shack and Five Guys. 

The company recently announced that it would also be tweaking its proprietary Big Mac to make it less dry and overall more palatable. In addition to cooking patties in smaller batches to ensure maximum flavor and a “uniform sear," McDonald's has devised a way to make the sandwich overall "meltier." Cheese will be kept at room temperature before cooking instead of coming straight from the freezer, and an extra portion of special sauce will be spread on the bun. The Big Mac's bun is also getting an upgrade to a moister, thicker "buttery brioche" that retains heat better. Even the sesame seeds will be more randomly dispersed to mimic a “homemade” burger.

However, that's only part of the lofty goals that McDonald's has in store. During Wednesday's event, the company also said that it plans to expand to 50,000 locations globally by 2027. That's a pretty significant expansion, considering that there were approximately 41,000 McDonald’s locations as of Sept. 30. The company said in a press release that it would mark "the fastest period of growth" in the history of the chain.

“With our current size and scale, some in this room might be questioning whether there is truly more space to grow,” said Manu Steijaert, the company’s global chief customer officer. "I’m here to tell you we see an incredible opportunity to grow the business by building more locations, getting us even closer to our customers."