McDonald’s to launch spin-off chain CosMc’s in 2024

Company

By means of Shannon Thaler

July 28, 2023 | 9:30 in the morning

McDonald’s CEO said the fast food giant plans to create a spin-off chain of smaller restaurants called CosMc’s in 2024.

CosMc is a yellow-colored part-alien, part-robot who appeared in the second phase of McDonaldland – the franchise’s fictional world inhabited by Ronald McDonald and his friends.

The lesser-known character, who began appearing in McDonald’s ads in 1987, has six arms and moved from his home in space when he discovered McDonald’s burgers and fries. (McDonaldland and his cast debuted in 1971).

“CosMc’s is a small format concept with all the DNA of McDonald’s, but with its own unique personality,” Chris Kempczinski, CEO of golden arches, said during a second-quarter earnings call Thursday.

So far, it’s unclear how CosMc will play in the new brand, which Kempczinski says will be tested early next year on a handful of sites in “a limited geography.”

Kempczinski teased that more information and development plans for the spin-off concept will be announced at the company’s investor day, which is due to take place in December.

CosMc’s story was set out in a 1980s McDonald’s ad that also featured Grimace, Ronald McDonald, and McDonaldland’s Professor.

The commercial shows a UFO-like object landing in McDonaldland, then sprouting a head and six arms and saying, “Hi-ho Earth people, CosMc here. I came from space on a trade mission.”

In an ad that aired the following year, friends Ronald and CosMc travel through space together and cross the Milky Way to order a Happy Meal from the ‘fly-through’.

The star-to-be of a McDonald’s spin-off brand was later featured in the 1990s Nintendo game MC Kids along with fellow McDonaldland character the Hamburglar.

The resurgence of CosMc – which is known for pairing its futuristic outfit with clunky white sneakers – comes after McDonald’s saw major success by bringing back its purple fuzzy mascot Grimace.

Known as ‘Evil Grimace’ in the 1970s, Grimace made a comeback in 2022 with a friendlier new look that made the beloved fuzzball famous.

McDonald’s recently celebrated the 52nd birthday of the purple blob with a limited edition milkshake and Happy Meal.

Following the release of its strong second-quarter report released Thursday, the brand called the “Grimace’s Birthday” campaign “one of our most socially engaged campaigns of all time.”

As a result, McDonald’s — with 13,513 restaurants in the US and more than 38,000 abroad — posted revenues of $6.5 billion in its last quarter, beating Wall Street’s $6.27 billion forecast.

Net sales were 14% higher than last year.

The Chicago-based brand scored $2.31 billion in revenue — a sharp increase from the $1.8 billion reported in the first quarter.

Kempczinski attributed the success to the mascot, which generated a lot of nostalgia among McDonald’s customers.

“If I’m being honest, the theme this quarter was Grimace,” he said on the company’s post-earnings report conference call.