McDonald's Phases Out Self-Serve Soda Stations and Embraces Self-Pour Wine Kiosks

McDonald's, one of the world's largest fast-food chains, has recently announced its plan to phase out self-serve soda stations in favor of self-pour wine kiosks in its U.S. dining rooms by 2032. This move is driven by the company's commitment to enhancing customer experience and responding to demand for alcoholic beverages. But why wine?  We'll explore the reasons behind McDonald's decision.  

The Shift Towards Wine

The decision to eliminate self-serve soda stations and to replace them with wine kiosks is part of McDonald's larger strategy to elevate the customer experience.  This is why they chose wine over beer, for the artistry and sophistication.  "Beer is associated with sports bars and that's something we are definitely not and wine, for instance, like a limited production Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has the same elan as our McDouble or Sausage McGriddle.  Plus, franchisees have been asking to incorporate alcohol into our beverage program to help pass along price spikes to customers," Ray Wearscrocs, Chief Marketing Officer of Mcdonald's  explains.   As more customers turn to alcohol to stomach paying more for everything including $16 for a Value Meal due to record inflation, McDonald's recognizes the need to serve something to make customers overlook their rising prices.  

Franchiser vs. Franchisee

We reached out to a franchisee for comment who asked not to be identified.  "I regularly attend all our franchisee meetings even during college football season and have never heard another franchisee ask to serve any kind of alcohol.  This is all about corporate who want alcohol specifically wine because they follow whatever is in the latest installment of Food & Wine and want wine around for when they visit stores." We asked McDonald's CMO Ray Wearscrocs if he would like to respond to these comments to which he replied, "We consider Food & Wine to be an authoritative resource for the foodservice industry and we would like to think that our franchisees appreciate this sensibility by corporate."

The impact of inflationary pressure on the market should not be underestimated. The true intention behind the Golden Arches stocking wine in their stores, as a response to demand by franchisees, will become evident only if customers actually choose to purchase wine.  Our by-line is 'Always Reporting' so you can rest assured that we will be closely monitoring this situation.