McDonald’s bets chicken, restaurant improvements will grow sales

The McDonald’s > NEXT plan focuses on improving food quality and taste, customer experiences, restaurant interiors and hospitality.

McDonald’s outlined its newest strategic plan on Monday, dubbed McDonald’s > NEXT, CEO Chris Kempczinski wrote in a memo to the chain’s system on Monday.

“McDonald's > NEXT is how we'll unlock our next phase of growth and productivity, by bringing in more customers more often and improving unit economics,” Kempczinski said in the memo.

The chain plans to boost quality and taste through menu innovation, improve consumer relations by co-creating with its biggest fans, emphasize better experiences and productivity at restaurants and redefine McDonald’s hospitality through its people, according to a graphic shared in the memo.

Menu innovation plans

Many of the initiatives are extensions of existing plans, including its menu innovation pipeline. The chain set up new teams in 2025 to focus on developing and improving its burgers, beverages and chicken. McDonald’s menu innovation as part of the new strategy will focus on creating better burgers and chicken and more consistency with coffee, the chain said in an emailed statement.

That will include new sauces for chicken, more variety and an improved McCrispy platform. Last year, the chain debuted chicken strips and brought back Snack Wraps . The chain already expanded its beverage platform with a new McCafe lineup and offered its Big Arch Burger as an LTO earlier this year.

“We’re raising the bar for our menu by improving quality and consistency at scale and innovating in spaces where we see growth potential and know matter to our customers, like chicken, beef and beverages,” said Jill McDonald, McDonald’s executive vice president and global chief restaurant experience officer, in an emailed statement.

Restaurant improvements

McDonald’s > NEXT also includes plans to reimagine restaurants that will improve crew and customer experiences, while creating more efficiencies. That could mean designing restaurants that look distinctly like McDonald’s, but with added playfulness.

“We’re creating feel-good moments for customers and crew by making our restaurants easier to run and more enjoyable to visit,” McDonald said.

The chain also wants to add more connected and intuitive systems, so teams aren’t jumping back and forth between tools. McDonald’s will test automated order taking to allow employees to focus on tasks. McDonald’s didn’t provide more details regarding the test.

The company is also going to work on improving its hospitality, and will try to build closer links to local hospitality culture. That could mean something like Canada’s “How’s Your Hi” program, which focuses on greeting customers, and has now been incorporated into training in Australia and China.

McDonald’s also wants to give crew and managers more time, skills and motivation to provide better guest experiences by centralizing administrative tasks to help managers. The chain is creating a single point of entry tool or dashboard for new workers, versus having different tools for on-boarding and training.

Hospitality and marketing

“When we take care of our people—with better tools, environments, and more support—they can spend more time interacting with our guests, meeting their needs, and doing it in a way that feels personal,” said Tiffanie Boyd, McDonald’s executive vice president and chief people officer.

McDonald’s will likely also devote more time and resources to marketing campaigns that bring people in. The chain already has several successful test cases for its marketing strategy, including the popular Minecraft Movie and Grinch promotions from 2025, and its recent KPop Demon Hunters partnership, which helped boost sales.

These types of promotions can help boost customer loyalty, while also providing more menu innovation. In the first quarter, these promotions helped McDonald’s reach a 3.9% increase in same-store sales.

“Customers today don’t just want to see the brand, they want to feel part of it,” said Morgan Flatley, executive vice president and global CMO and new business ventures, in a statement. “We’re creating brand-led content and co-creating with fans to reach consumers where they are — in relevant and personalized ways.”