McDonald’s serving up new kind of energy boost on menus nationwide

McDonald’s is moving into energy drinks, teaming with Red Bull as the fast-food giant expands its beverage lineup while working to drive more customers to its U.S. restaurants.

Starting Aug. 17, participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide will sell the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer, marking the company’s entry into the energy drink category.

The drink combines Red Bull with blue raspberry syrup and freeze-dried dragonfruit. Customers can substitute Red Bull Zero for a reduced-sugar version or purchase an 8.4-ounce can of Red Bull separately.

The beverage expansion comes as McDonald’s works to improve customer traffic after its U.S. business delivered slower-than-expected sales growth during the second quarter.

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Comparable sales in the U.S., McDonald’s largest market, increased 0.8% during the quarter, below the 1.06% growth analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected. U.S. comparable sales grew 2.5% a year earlier.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said execution problems, including inconsistent promotion of value offerings and reduced use of digital deals, contributed to weaker customer traffic.

“We don’t have a strategy problem. We simply didn’t execute at the level we needed to in the second quarter,” Kempczinski said.

McDonald’s CFO Ian Borden said the company planned to use more national digital offers and personalized promotions to “reenergize our high-frequency customers.”

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The Red Bull rollout builds on McDonald’s expansion of its core beverage lineup with crafted sodas and Refreshers.

“We’ve seen growing enthusiasm for our crafted sodas and refreshers as fans look for more variety and options to fit every occasion,” Alyssa Buetikofer, chief marketing and customer experience officer for McDonald’s USA, said. “They loved the Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer when we first tested it in the U.S., so we’re excited to give fans nationwide the energy they’ve been craving with Red Bull. And we’re just getting started.”

McDonald’s is also expanding its crafted soda lineup with a Vanilla Swirl, which combines vanilla flavor and cold foam with a choice of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar.

Other offerings will vary by location and include Orange Dream with Fanta and reduced-sugar crafted sodas made with Diet Dr Pepper, Dr Pepper Zero Sugar and Sprite Zero Sugar.

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Both McDonald’s Refreshers and Red Bull Energizers contain caffeine, according to the company.