After the $18 price of a Big Mac meal in Connecticut went viral, McDonald’s top executive has since defended the franchise, arguing this price is an anomaly and most of their prices are still fair.
“For a brand that proudly serves nearly 90% of the U.S. population every year, we feel a responsibility to make sure the real facts are available,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said in a post to the company’s website on Wednesday.
Erlinger acknowledged that he and many franchisees were frustrated by a post on X last summer about a Big Mac meal in Connecticut that cost $18. He called the price “an exception,” noting that franchisees own and operate 95% of U.S. McDonald’s locations and set their own pricing but “work hard to minimize the impact of price increases.”
He also argued that reports suggesting the price of the average Big Mac has doubled since 2019 were false.
According to McDonald’s, the average U.S. Big Mac was $4.39 in 2019 and now costs $5.29, which is a 20.5% increase.
Currently, the average U.S. price of a Big Mac meal, which comes with a sandwich, fries, and a drink, is $9.29. Though the fast-food corporation said the cost of some items have seen bigger price jumps than the Big Mac, as the average cost of medium fries was $2.29 in 2019 and is now $3.29, a 44% increase.
The company reported that the average price of all menu items has risen 40% over the last five years, in order to account for a 40% average increase in the cost of labor, paper and food.
According to government-issued figures, this spike is higher than the rise in overall consumer prices, which have increased 21% since December 2019.
McDonald’s has seen a marked slowdown in business during the first three months of this year, as significant markets ate out less often due mostly to increased prices caused by inflation. This has prompted the company to offer customers more deals, such as introducing a $5 meal deal next month in the U.S. that comes with a sandwich, a four-piece McNuggets, small fries, and a small drink.
