McDonald's launches new restaurant with bold food and drink offerings

Fast food chain McDonald’s is finally opening its new small-format, beverage-led concept that comes equipped with a menu of bold beverages and tasty bites this month. The first outlet will open in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Named CosMc’s, the restaurant idea was inspired by a character in McDonaldland, a fictional universe inhabited by different McDonald’s mascots. The character CosMc, is an alien who visited the McDonald’s universe for a trade mission.

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CosMc’s will blend brand-new beverage creations with a small lineup of food, including a select few McDonald’s favorites.

These include bold flavored drinks such as specialty lemonades and teas, blended beverages and cold coffees.

"Think Sour Cherry Energy Slush, Tropical Spiceade and S’mores Cold Brew. Make it yours with customisations at every turn: popping boba, flavor syrups, energy or Vitamin C shots, and so much more," said McDonald's in a statement. 

The new restaurant will also be selling different types of food. You can expect offerings such as a Spicy Queso Sandwich, Savory Hash Brown Bites and Pretzel Bites served with dipping sauces. On the sweet side, there's a Blueberry Lemon Cookie Sundae and Caramel Fudge Brownies, to name a few.

CosMc’s will also be entirely digital and provide a drive-thru experience for its customers. According to the brand, the new store wanted to let humans order exactly what they crave with their own unique spin, and lift them up, just like the aliens.

McDonald’s has also projected 10 openings of CosMc’s by the end of 2024 before evaluating a global expansion.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for more information.

CosMc is not the first character that McDonald’s has picked up on for its new offerings. This year, we’ve seen the brand’s usage of nostalgia marketing, bringing back its iconic character Grimace.

McDonald’s promoted the character with the launch of a Grimace-themed video game to celebrate the 52nd birthday of its purple mascot. The game allows users to immerse themselves in Grimace's world as he races around classic McDonald's birthday scenes to find his friends, such as Birdie and Hamburglar, all in a quest to cut his birthday cake.

The video game is a 2D retro style game with controls similar to that of a Game Boy Colour that can be played on a computer. 

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