by McDonald’s is closing all five of its CosMc’s pilot locations this summer, just 18 months after launching the beverage-focused concept to much fanfare and long drive-thru lines outside its first store in suburban Chicago.
The fast-food giant insisted the pilot program paved the way for a major new push into the competitive specialty drink market — this time from inside its core restaurants.
“The main goal of the CosMc’s test was to create a launchpad for learning for the McDonald’s System — and the insights we’ve gathered have given us a whole new way to get closer to our fans,” the company said Friday.
Launched in late 2023, CosMc’s was designed to explore the booming drive-thru beverage category dominated by chains like Dutch Bros, Scooters and Swig.
McDonald’s opened additional outposts in Texas and briefly considered expanding with smaller-format stores after shuttering three larger ones in January.
CEO Chris Kempczinski revealed the company was planning a change in strategy during an earnings call earlier this month.
“We have discovered some interesting learnings through our CosMc’s test, which has better informed our understanding of consumers’ customization preferences and interest in new, emerging beverage categories,” Kempczinski told analysts.
Rather than build out a second brand, McDonald’s will add the CosMc’s beverages to menus at its existing US restaurants. The new flavors will be part of an in-store test launching later this year.
“Building on the insights gained from the pilot standalone locations, CosMc’s-inspired flavors will be landing at McDonald’s… seamlessly blending out of this world tastes into the McDonald’s experience,” the company said.
A new dedicated beverage category team is now tasked with scaling the effort across the US.
McDonald’s emphasized that CosMc’s served as a “learning lab” to test new technologies, bold flavors, and fast menu iteration in real-world, customer-facing environments.
The company said it made quick adjustments based on feedback and will apply those insights moving forward.
The standalone CosMc’s app will also be discontinued as the five remaining stores — four in Texas and one in Illinois — are phased out beginning in late June.
Meanwhile, the beverage race is heating up. Taco Bell is accelerating its own in-restaurant drink initiative, Live Mas Café, adding pressure on McDonald’s to act quickly in a rapidly evolving category.
