McDonald’s says it won’t impose surcharges when serving eggs as part of its meals, after Waffle House and Denny’s announced plans to charge customers 50 cents for every egg in their order earlier this month.
“Unlike others making news recently, you definitely WON'T see McDonald’s USA issuing surcharges on eggs, which are 100% cage-free and sourced in the U.S.,” Michael Gonda, McDonald’s senior vice president and chief impact officer for North America, wrote in a Feb. 25 post on LinkedIn.
The company said it will also launch $1 McMuffins on its app in a move to attract more consumers in the United States.
The burger giant has been aiming to attract lower and middle-income consumers who have been shying away from dining out amid rising inflationary woes.
McDonald’s posted its biggest decline in U.S. sales during its 2024 fourth-quarter earnings report, despite a full-year growth of more than $1 billion worldwide.
“Accelerating the Arches continues to be the right strategy as we focus on growing market share,” chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in the report.
“We’re playing to win, focusing on our customers with outstanding value, exciting menu innovation, and culturally relevant marketing.”
A dozen cage-free eggs for sale for $10.99 at a grocery store in Glendale, Calif., on Jan. 6, 2025. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
The ongoing bird flu epidemic has severely impacted the U.S. egg supply chain, prompting some businesses to adopt measures to compensate for the rising costs of baked goods and other foods made with eggs.
Earlier this month, Trader Joe’s capped purchases to one carton per customer each day to ensure more people have access to eggs, while similar purchasing limits have been reported in Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Aldi stores across the United States.
With no immediate end to the shortages in sight, Turkey last week announced that will be exporting around 15,000 tons of eggs—the equivalent to 700 containers—to the United States between February and July.
The bird flu epidemic began in 2022 and flared up again in a Texas dairy farm in March last year. The virus has since spread to more than 973 flocks in over 1,600 locations across 16 states.
Bird flu is primarily spread by wild birds such as ducks and geese as they migrate. While it is fatal to a variety of animals, many of those species can generally carry it without getting sick.
Whenever the virus is detected on a poultry farm, the entire flock is culled to prevent further spread. Since large egg farms often house over a million chickens, even just a few infections can have a significant impact on the egg supply chain.
According to the CDC, around 166 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds have been wiped out since 2022, with the vast majority being egg-laying chickens.
The virus has infected 70 people since the March 2024 outbreak—primarily farm workers exposed to infected poultry or cattle. One person who was infected died.
The CDC has rated the current public health risk as “low.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
