A MCDONALD’S insider shared some insight as to how the company maintains its affordable pricing
The former chef revealed the company’s cost-cutting tricks that customers don’t notice.
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A former research and development chef for McDonald’s shared some information about how the company streamlines its operations to increase profit margins.
The multinational fast food giant recently became the most valuable restaurant chain in the world.
Mike Haracz, username chefmikeharacz on TikTok, explained the practices McDonald’s employs to shave its expenses, all while keeping customers in the dark.
Haracz was McDonald’s Manager of Culinary Innovation from 2015-2019, according to LinkedIn.
The former fast food chef claimed that the company uses crafty tactics to make nearly imperceptible reductions to its food usage.
“First is actual portion size, so let’s say a big old block of cheese gets 250 slices,” Haracz said in the video.
“Well, if you slice that big block just a tiny little bit thinner, you might get 252 slices of cheese on that same block.”
McDonald’s has over 43,000 restaurant locations worldwide.
With the amount of cheese and other ingredients the company uses, seemingly minimal cutbacks to its food products can add up to millions or even billions of dollars in savings.
The changes are so small, Haracz claims, that they will not even impact ingredients statements and nutritional values by a noticeable value.
One way McDonald’s does this, Haracz says, is by adding breadcrumb or other “filler” ingredients to its Chicken McNugget white meat mixture to make it cheaper.
Since breadcrumbs are used in the breading for chicken McNuggets, the additives will not even be shown on the ingredients statements.
“They also can do other things like incorporate more air, ice, or whatever, so that the piece may look the same but as it cooks you might notice a little more shelling,” Haracz says.
“That’s those gaps in the chicken nuggets which you are probably seeing a little more of, because they changed the meat block on the inside so that when it cooks there’s some shrinkage.
“You either know and don’t care or complain about it.”
McDonald’s can even make ingredients last longer to reduce food waste.
Haracz used the new McDonald’s buns as an example, which he says have been criticized for tasting denser and drier than before.
“I’m imagining that the improvements that they made also came with extended shelf life in the restaurants that owner/operators love,” Haracz said.
“So now, most people are actually eating older buns than they were before.
And you probably have noticed because it’s dryer it’s denser and not as pillowy and fluffy as they are saying.”
Haracz also noted other cost-saving measures such as having previously customer-facing employees cook food, which is the biggest driver of McDonald’s profits.
Most Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), including McDonald’s, measure their success by how many customers they can get through the drive-thru.
They can understaff against recommendations, Haracz claims, so that people in the back are working harder.
