McDonald's hikes price of its Irish burgers
Price hikes will be seen across the McDonald’s menu but some of its less popular items will be unaffected.
McDonald’s Irish franchise beefed up the price of its cheeseburgers for the first time in 14 years this week due to the impact of cost pressures.
Price hikes will be seen across the McDonald’s menu but some of its less popular items such as salads will be unaffected.
“We understand that any price increases are not good news, but we have delayed and minimised these changes for as long as we could,” said Alistair Macrow, McDonald's Ireland and UK CEO.
Its cheeseburger prices in Irish eateries have risen from €1.50 to €1.70 due to the high rate of inflation, which recently reached nearly 10%.
Other menu items including breakfast meals, main meals, large coffees, McFlurrys, the Chicken Mayo, the McNuggets share box, and some Go Large options will also see price increases.
Some price hikes will be at the discretion of individual franchises and will vary from restaurant to restaurant.
"We know things are tough right now. We’re living through incredibly challenging times and we’re all seeing the cost of everyday items, such as food and energy, increase in a way many of us have never experienced,” said Mr Macrow.
McDonald’s was founded in the US in 1955 and in 1972 it established a presence in Ireland. Since, the country has experienced a burger boom, especially in Dublin.
US giants such as McDonald’s and Burger King started to see more competition including Niall Fortune’s Eddie Rockets, which was founded in 1989, and burger joint Bunsen, which opened in 2013.
Burger restaurants, like most eateries, navigated a tough environment pre-pandemic. Rent, insurance, and Vat created cost pressures for hospitality and some restaurants were forced to shut.
Joe Macken’s Jo’Burger Group, which also owned Hey Donna and Crackbird, is a key example as the company ceased trading in December 2018.
High costs such as rent are still an issue for those in hospitality but now restaurants must battle inflation and supply chain issues as well.
McDonald’s has outlasted previous crises and has operations all over the world, but it is unclear if it will still have the same level of competition in future years due to current high costs.
The Chicago-headquartered chain, which runs more than 36,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, also raised US prices by 6% last year, in line with increases at other consumer-focused companies which are facing higher inflation amid strong post-pandemic demand and supply chain disruption.
Helped in part by higher prices, McDonald's recently reported better-than-expected profit even as expenses soared. It said it was also considering whether to add more discounted menu items as higher inflation, particularly in Europe, forces some consumers to buy fewer big combination meals.
- Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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