McDonald's May Enter Coffee Retail Market

McDonald’s may be entering into the coffee retail market soon.  Although already incorporating the McCafe brand strongly into its fast-food retail, it seems McDonald’s may try to compete with Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons in an effort to sell coffee via retail.

McDonald’s filed a trademark application on September 7th with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “McCafe” in an effort to sell ground or whole bean coffee.  What does this mean for the coffee retail industry? Will McDonald’s soon be making a grand entrance into a new market?

According to Burger Business, a McDonald’s spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied. “We register a lot of trademarks. That’s nothing new for us.”

McDonald’s market share in the US and Canada could easily be seen as leading in the fast food realm. But in comparison to coffee heavy retailers such as Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons, McDonald’s McCafe sales are in high competition.  Both competitors Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons have ground coffee products available in store or online offering consumers convenience when coffee cravings kick in.

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Even further, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks have entered into the single-serve coffee market. Dunkin started offering single-serve coffee in 2011 by partnering with Keurig. Dunkin Donuts K-Cups offer brand loyal customers their favorite coffee right at home, which is especially helpful to Dunkin fans that don’t have a Dunkin retail location nearby.  Starbucks announced their entrance into single serve coffee in late September with its new Verismo System.  This introduction allows Starbucks customers to be able to drink Starbucks Caffe Lattes, espresso and coffee anytime they want.

No matter what, McDonald’s has a strong brand that can support a number of new products. One thing is for sure, if McDonald’s jumps onto the coffee retail bandwagon, competitors will have a run for their money.