In a rare move from the fast food giant, McDonald’s wrote a letter pushing back against recent criticism over its price points, saying it hasn’t been unreasonable and that it offers “meaningful value.”
McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger penned the letter, saying that claims the Golden Arches boosted its prices “significantly beyond inflationary rates” are “inaccurate.”
Among the topics Erlinger discussed was inflation, which he said was the root cause for rising prices. Still, he argued that “prices for many of our menu items have risen less than the rate of inflation – and remain well within the range of other quick service restaurants.”
Erlinger also pointed out that franchisees are the ones who set prices at the more than 95% of locations they own and operate.
Sharing more real numbers, he said that the average cost of a Big Mac is $5.29, which is up 21% from 2019, when it was $4.39.
He said that the reasoning behind this was not only inflationary pressure but “historic” hikes in wages and supply chain issues.
McDonald’s and other fast food giants have recently come under fire online after reports showed a drastic change in pricing over the last five years.
Last year, a report went viral after it showed that at one McDonald’s location, the price for a Big Mac meal was $18.
Erlinger touched on this in his letter, noting that this was an outlier and not commonplace at the chain.
“More worrying, though, is when people believe that this is the rule and not the exception, or when folks start to suggest that the prices of a Big Mac have risen 100% since 2019,” he wrote.
Still, McDonald’s has shown that it listens to customers, as it announced that, in June, it would launch a $5 value meal to try and attract inflation-weary customers.
News of this came after McDonald’s missed its profit goal for the first quarter.
During a post-earnings call at the beginning of the month, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski shared that consumers are “being very discriminating in how they spend their dollar[s],” Reuters reported.
“I think it’s important to recognize that all income cohorts are seeking value,” the CEO said.