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McDonald's to Dump Supersize Portions
The Cincinnati Enquirer ^ | Mar 3, 8:54 AM EST | DAVE CARPENTER

Posted on 03/03/2004 6:40:01 AM PST by yankeedame

Mar 3, 8:54 AM EST

McDonald's to Dump Supersize Portions

By DAVE CARPENTER
AP Business Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- Hold the fries - at least the super-sized version. In a sign of the times, McDonald's is getting rid of the extra-large portions that had become one of its signatures. The burger giant said it has begun phasing out Supersize fries and drinks in its more than 13,000 U.S. restaurants and will stop selling them altogether by year's end, except in promotions.

The company cited the need to trim a menu that has expanded in recent years and said eliminating super-sizing is only part of that effort.

"The driving force here was menu simplification," spokesman Walt Riker said after McDonald's disclosed the change in strategy in a brief statement late Tuesday. "The fact of the matter is not very many Supersize fries are sold."

But the downsizing of super-sizing comes with fast-food companies, especially industry behemoth McDonald's, under intense pressure to cater to Americans' growing preference for healthier food options.

The move is part of McDonald's "Eat Smart, Be Active" initiative, which it launched last year under first-year CEO Jim Cantalupo and U.S. operations chief Mike Roberts in an attempt to revive then-stagnant U.S. sales.

McDonald's added entree salads with great success last year and has been moving to provide more fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals. But the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company remains a lightning rod for public criticism - and legal action - when it comes to obesity and other health worries.

Two lawsuits claiming McDonald's hid the health risks of eating Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets were thrown out in federal court in New York last year. An award-winning documentary called "Super Size Me" then reaped more unwanted publicity for McDonald's. The documentary, which chronicles the deterioration of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's health during a monthlong experiment eating nothing but McDonald's food, won a directing prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is set for wide release this spring.

Riker said the phasing out of super-sizing has "nothing to do with that (film) whatsoever."

The company has called the documentary "a super-sized distortion of the quality, choice and variety available at McDonald's." It says the film is not about McDonald's but about Spurlock's decision to act irresponsibly by eating 5,000 calories a day - "a gimmick to make a film."

Richard Adams, a former McDonald's franchising executive and now an independent consultant for franchisees, said health concerns no doubt factored into the decision. But he said the company has been promising to clear up some of the "clutter" on its menu since adding a slew of new products in the late 1990s when domestic sales were flat.

"Now that sales have improved, it's easier to pull things off the menu," said Adams, who operates Franchise Equity Group. "When sales are declining, the corporation and the franchisees are terrified at the prospect of selling a few less 42-ounce drinks. When sales are on the upswing, it's easier to admit that you can't be everything to everybody."

Supersize fries are a 7-ounce carton - the largest of five current sizes of McDonald's fries. McDonald's will still sell "large" fries, the 6-ounce size, Riker said. The company did not immediately disclose other details of the menu changes, which have been quietly under way since January.

Some customers had a mixed reaction to the news.

Jamie Cox, 19, dining at a McDonald's in downtown Chicago with his girlfriend Tuesday night, said he normally super-sizes his meal but usually throws out leftover fries. "It's a waste," he acknowledged. "Once they get cold, they're nasty. But we would die without the (Supersize) drink."

Another Chicago patron who likes Supersize, 21-year-old Ward Stare, said he could do without the extra-large portions.

"When you think about it, there's not much of a difference between the large and Supersize," he said. "You just pay more. ... I don't think I would miss it that much as long as you still get a good proportion of food."

---

On the Net:

www.mcdonalds.com

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: downsized

1 posted on 03/03/2004 6:40:02 AM PST by yankeedame
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To: yankeedame
Won't happen. The burger biz is too competative for McDonalds not to offer something that's pretty popular with their customers. If I can't super-size @ McD's I'll just drive the extra 1/1000th of a mile and hit the burger king.

2 posted on 03/03/2004 6:42:59 AM PST by pcx99
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To: yankeedame
Now there will be no more supersized dumps!
3 posted on 03/03/2004 6:43:37 AM PST by Ron in Acreage
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To: pcx99
Remember, the Center for Science in Their Own Self-Interest (PETA) says, "You are too stupid to make your own choices."
4 posted on 03/03/2004 6:44:04 AM PST by 50sDad (OK, I give in. Visit my website! http://my.oh.voyager.net/~abartmes)
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To: yankeedame
"But we would die without the (Supersize) drink."

Said it with a straight face, too.

5 posted on 03/03/2004 6:44:07 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (You can see it coming like a train on a track.)
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To: yankeedame
Big freaking deal. The super size is a seven ounce carton of fries. The large is a six ounce carton of fries. ONE OUNCE.
6 posted on 03/03/2004 6:44:43 AM PST by Petronski (John Kerry looks like . . . like . . . weakness.)
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To: yankeedame

Some customers had a mixed reaction to the news.


 

I'll say.

7 posted on 03/03/2004 6:46:11 AM PST by Fintan (Someday we''ll look back on this and plow into a parked car...)
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To: Fintan
How, thats the most fabric on a bikini I have ever seen, and ironically, showing the most skin.
8 posted on 03/03/2004 7:09:47 AM PST by RolandBurnam
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To: RolandBurnam

Yeah...crazy world, ain't it?


9 posted on 03/03/2004 7:19:42 AM PST by Fintan (I'm having too much fun...)
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To: yankeedame
Oh well, I avoid anything from McDonalds, except a few breakfast items, like the plague. I prefer Wendy's or Buger King, who I am sure will keep their "biggie size" options, since the customers want them.
10 posted on 03/03/2004 7:24:41 AM PST by freedomluvr1778
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To: yankeedame
When my kids were little, I would buy the supersize and everyone would share - saved a lot of money.
11 posted on 03/03/2004 7:47:28 AM PST by I still care
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To: Fintan
Could you post a picture of Ann Coulter to counter act that image you've shared with us?
12 posted on 03/03/2004 8:39:42 AM PST by GreenLanternCorps (Just once I'd like to meet an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets!!!)
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To: yankeedame
"When you think about it, there's not much of a difference between the large and Supersize," he said. "You just pay more. ...

Duh, thus the minimal increase in profits because most people don't supersize. It's like Wendy's "BIGGY" fries, a waste of money. The normal size container of fries should be enough for any diner.

13 posted on 03/03/2004 8:43:41 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: 1Old Pro
It costs more money to offer more options, so if people are cutting back on supersizing then McDonalds has made a wise business decision. And if the fatties want to "supersize," just order two of everything. The market will work everything out.
14 posted on 03/03/2004 8:46:42 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: Fintan
Ahh, my eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!
15 posted on 03/03/2004 8:48:15 AM PST by RogueIsland
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To: yankeedame
Super size isn't playing with the Atkins crowd. They are asking for burgers with no bun. No fries at all. Ice tea or a diet soft drink.

My wife has patronized the "super size" stuff to acquire enough fries in one order for my 2 sons. Even so, it is not uncommon to have a single super size order that is finished by feeding to a hungry pack of Rat Terriers.

16 posted on 03/03/2004 9:02:56 AM PST by Myrddin
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To: GreenLanternCorps
It's not Anne Coulter,but maybe this will help...


17 posted on 03/03/2004 11:26:11 AM PST by yankeedame ("Oh, I can take it but I'd much rather dish it out.")
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