McDonald’s to sell crowd-sourced burgers
McDonald’s UK is asking fans to design burgers that could appear on the menu at over 1,200 restaurants in the UK.
The “burger builder” crowdsourcing initiative lets fans customise their perfect burger by selecting up to six ingredients from a selection of over 80. McDonald’s claims there are more than “a million possible combinations” with ingredients ranging from streaky bacon, chorizo, guacamole and pineapple chunks.
Fans can create their personalised burgers via a Razorfish-created app, which also lets them submit their creation to a public vote. A panel of experts including former England rugby player and Masterchef winner Phil Vickery will judge the 12 most popular burgers with the top five being sold in restaurants later this year.
A ticker on the portal keeps updates on the number of people taking part and what ingredients are being used by others. It currently reveals that 16546 burgers have been made so far and 8 per cent of that number feature pickels.
A month-long campaign launches next week to tout the app. McDonald’s will run a YouTube takeover as part of the push alongside radio ads through its tie-up with KissFM. A follow-up TV and digital drive will run between October and November to promote the burgers being sold in-store.
McDonald’s says the launch is a “great opportunity” to canvass menu ideas from customers. It has already tested customisable sandwich options in response to the growing trend towards customization in the fast-food industry.
Alistair Macrow, senior vice president of food and marketing at McDonald’s UK, says: “Customisation and digital engagement are becoming an integral part of how consumers interact with companies and we want to continue to innovate as a brand. That’s why we’re giving our customers the unique chance to design their own burger online with the potential for it to sit side-by-side with the likes of the iconic Big Mac.”
McDonald’s has run similar “burger builder” initiatives across Europe as well as in the US since the turn of the year.