New McDonald's Franchise Standards: Value Metric and Penalties

McDonald’s is tightening its franchising standards to make “value” a new performance metric. It will soon judge franchisees not just on operations and service standards, but perceived value, too, CNBC reports.

“Effective January 1, 2026, we are enhancing our global franchising standards across all Segments to reinforce accountability for value leadership,” Andrew Gregory, McDonald’s senior vice president of global franchising, development and delivery, wrote in a memo issued Monday and obtained by CNBC. “With enhanced standards, we aim to provide greater clarity to the system to ensure every restaurant delivers consistent, reliable value across the full customer experience.”

Conversations around McDonald’s traffic and value have been consistent this year, and this appears to be yet another attempt to drive success throughout the system.

While franchisees will still technically set their own prices, under this new review structure, “value” becomes part of the franchise’s standards. If franchisees don’t comply, they may be subject to penalties like early termination of the franchise agreement or not being allowed to scale to additional locations.

Value is no longer a marketing slogan or a temporary promotion. It is a key expectation of guests, and it’s becoming a contractual obligation for franchisees.