Dee-Ann Durbin
McDonald said Friday it is closing COSMC, a new restaurant format that started piloting in the US last year.
However, the company said the COSMC-inspired drink will soon be tested at a McDonald’s location in the US. Among the drinks on COSMC’s current menu are matcha iced latte, turmeric spice latte, spiny pear-style slassi with pops of candy on top, and frozen sour cherry energy drinks.
McDonald’s announced in late 2023 that he would like to test the smallest store with customizable drinks and snacks to appeal to afternoon snacks. And they want to earn sales from rivals like Starbucks and Dutch Brothers.
“This is a $100 billion category that is growing faster than the rest of the (casual meals) and the good margins, and the space we believe we have the right to win.”
However, Kempczinski said COSMC drinks might be too complicated to fit regular McDonald’s store operations.
McDonald has opened one location at COSMC near its headquarters in Chicago, seven locations in Texas. Five locations remain, but the company plans to close them all by the end of June. The company has also closed its COSMC app.
McDonald said that COSMC has allowed them to experiment with bold flavors and a variety of technologies, such as drive-thru lanes, which manage traffic based on the complexity of the order. We also managed to quickly edit menus based on customer feedback.
Original issue: May 23, 2025, 7:15pm EDT
