Coming Soon to McDonald's Happy Meals: Organic, Watered-Down Juice
September 15 2017 - 11:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Jennifer Maloney and Julie Jargon
McDonald's Corp. is dropping the Minute Maid apple juice box
from its Happy Meals and replacing it with a watered-down, organic
juice with less sugar made by Honest Kids.
The change, set for November, is the latest step in the
evolution of the Happy Meal toward healthier options and one that
shows how shifting consumer tastes have prompted Coca-Cola Co.,
which owns both Minute Maid and Honest Kids, to broaden its
portfolio of beverages to include lower-calorie options.
Parents are increasingly turning away from 100% fruit juice in
favor of water and other drinks with less sugar. McDonald's
nutritionist Cindy Goody said the latest Happy Meal menu change was
driven by feedback from parents who wanted a healthier beverage
choice.
Mary Lozano, a 33-year-old mom in Los Angeles, who was dining at
a McDonald's this week, said she would like to see a broader
selection of healthy items in Happy Meals, such as carrots,
mixed-fruit cups or apple sauce. But, she said, "I don't know how
much more they can do without going way off their menu."
The 6-ounce Honest Kids Appley Ever After box contains more
water than juice -- it is 42% apple juice. It has 10 fewer grams of
sugar and half the calories of the 6-ounce Minute Maid box, which
is 100% apple juice. Both are made from concentrate. Coca-Cola
declined to comment on any financial effect from the switch.
Amid a backlash against the fast-food industry for contributing
to America's obesity problem, McDonald's six years ago reduced the
size of its french fry servings in Happy Meals by more than half
and added sliced apples. Later, the chain stopped promoting soft
drinks as an option in children's meals and instead started
including juice, low-fat milk and water on its menu boards and in
its advertising.
McDonald's also has added low-fat yogurt and clementines as side
options, and last year removed artificial preservatives, colors and
flavors from its chicken nuggets.
The popularity of fast-food children's meals with toys had been
declining for several years before McDonald's began making the
nutrition-related changes. In recent years, those meals have been
on the upswing, with a 6% increase to 1.1 billion orders at U.S.
fast-food chains in the 12 months ending June, according to NPD
Group Inc.
In addition to declining soda consumption, Coca-Cola's Minute
Maid has also fallen out of favor. Sales of Minute Maid at grocers
and other retailers in the U.S. have dropped 18% since 2012 to $1.1
billion in 2016, according to independent market-research firm
Euromonitor International. Meanwhile, the Honest Kids brand has
been growing. Its products since 2015 have been added to menus at
Wendy's, Chick-fil-A and Subway.
Combined, Honest Tea's juice, tea and other drinks are expected
to generate $400 million in retail sales this year and, with the
boost from McDonald's and other projected growth, could reach $600
million next year, said Honest Tea co-founder Seth Goldman. He
remains at Coca-Cola, which bought the business in 2011.
Howell Wechsler, chief executive of the Alliance for a Healthier
Generation, a nonprofit that has pushed McDonald's to develop
healthier choices for children, called the move "a good step, but
we look forward to the day when kids see water as the baseline
default choice."
He added that McDonald's could still do more to make Happy Meals
more nutritious, for example by offering vegetables and rotating in
different fruits to expose children to a variety of healthy
items.
A McDonald's spokeswoman said the company is proud of the
changes it has made and that, "We are committed to continuing our
food journey for the benefit of our guests."
Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com and Julie
Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 15, 2017 11:14 ET (15:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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