McDonald’s is mining its CosMc’s menu to bring new drinks to its restaurants

McDonald’s ended its drive-thru-only all-drinks-and-snacks store concept CosMc’s in May after less than two years, but the experiment wasn’t a waste of time.

McDonald’s announced that later this summer, it’s rolling out a selection of CosMc’s drinks with names like the Strawberry Watermelon Refresher and Sprite Lunar Splash to 500 McDonald’s locations in Colorado, Wisconsin, and other states, with a plan to eventually take them worldwide.

“This first test in the U.S. market is a big step in our global direction,” McDonald’s beverage category lead Charlie Newberger said in a statement.

CosMc’s launched as a concept restaurant in 2023 with just five locations between Illinois and Texas. The sub-brand was a play for Gen Z consumers and an attempt to get McDonald’s’ foot in the door of the speciality beverage category.

Gen Z customers are “turning to cold, flavorful drinks as a go-to treat,” McDonald’s chief customer experience and marketing officer of McDonald’s USA said in a statement, and with a menu packed with sugary frappés, fruity energy drink, iced teas, and lemonades, CosMc’s was designed to lure consumers away from chains like Starbucks, Dutch Bros., and Black Rock Coffee Bar for their drink fix. Taco Bell followed last year with Live Más Café, its own speciality drink store.

CosMc’s is one of many new store concepts that quick-service restaurants have experimented with in recent years. As the industry has adapted to changing consumer habits, chains have opened mobile-only locations and spin-off brands like KFC’s Saucy.

While these concepts haven’t all taken off, like Starbuck’s no-seating pickup stores, which the company announced it will phase out by next year, they have provided chains with valuable insights they can fold into the main brand.

McDonald’s won’t be opening any new CosMc’s locations, but it doesn’t have to. After demonstrating proof of concept for its menu of speciality drinks, the company is prepared to take the bestsellers to hundreds of existing stores before scaling it even further. CosMc’s was a test case, not a failure.