In the last month, two major food & beverage players - McDonald's and Dunkin' - dropped limited edition, branded menu items, a marketing tactic that neither brand has employed in the recent past. These chains seem to be trying out new marketing plays in order to engage younger (mainly Gen Z) consumers.
McDonald's is now offering the Travis Scott Meal - a fully loaded quarter pounder, with fries, BBQ sauce, and a Sprite (Scott's favorite) for a limited time. McDonald's hasn't offered a branded menu item since the McJordan Burger in 1992. According to interviews with McDonald's, this campaign was a year in the making and will not be the first of its kind. As McDonald's struggles to reach Gen Z / Millennial customers (likely due to younger generation's adoration for competitors such as Chick-fil-a), Scott allows McDonalds to connect with a younger audience. Scott's fans skew young and are highly engaged with him on various platforms (he has over 3 billion streams on Spotify and 33M followers on Instagram).
Dunkin' now offers the Charli - Tik Tok star Charli D'Amelio's go-to order -a Dunkin' Cold Brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl. This seems to be Dunkin's first foray into branded menu items. Charli is Tik Tok's biggest star - with over 80 million followers (that she has cultivated since only last summer). Charli is a native New Englander (from CT) so her connection to the brand is authentic. Like with the Travis Scott Meal, this menu item allows Dunkin' to appeal to a younger audience and achieve a "cool" factor, given the 16-year old's influence over Gen Z. In fact, Charli's die-hard fans were already ordering her go-to order in her honor before it became a menu item.
It will be interesting to see if either McDonald's or Dunkin' is able to cultivate a new consumer base a result of these promotions and/or if they are able to drive any material sales lifts. It seems like the Travis Scott Meal and the Charli' are just two of the many branded menu items coming our way!
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