McDonald’s new Big Arch burger has two-thirds of the calories you should consume each day, and that’s without fries or drinks.
The fast food giant’s latest attempt to win back customers has been dubbed a “Big Mac on steroids” because of its size.
While it hasn’t arrived in the U.S. yet, it’s already available across Canada, meaning Americans in northern states can cross the border to try it out. It’s set to arrive in the U.S. later this year.
The Big Arch marks the fast food giant’s first permanent, global product since Chicken McNuggets in 1983.
The new burger has two patties and comes with fresh, crispy sliced onions, three slices of processed white cheese, pickles and lettuce, and a new Big Arch hot sauce.
All this adds up to 1,030 calories and 66 g of fat, according to the menu listing.
McDonald’s Big Arch burger has finally been unveiled
Adult women typically need between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day and men between 2,200 and 3,000. according to US health officials..
A Grand Arch would therefore represent up to two-thirds of a woman’s salary and just under half for a man.
The burger contains an impressive 52 grams of protein. And McDonald’s is careful to point out that its menu items are intended as an occasional treat, not something you consume every day.
“It’s a quintessential McDonald’s burger with a twist of our iconic, familiar flavors,” CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts in July when he announced the new burger, while also revealing the company had seen its first sales decline since Covid.
The Great Arc has been widely deployed in Canada and Portugal after months of testing in both countries.
A similar test is in the works in select areas of the US before going national in what is by far McDonald’s largest market.
Bosses want to make sure the restaurants can succeed on a large scale and also that American customers like them. Menu items often have subtle differences between countries based on local preferences.
Based on feedback, they may modify the size, recipe and price if necessary.
In Canada, a Big Arch meal (with a drink and fries) cost $12.59 at one of the screening test sites in Ontario. That’s equivalent to about $9 in the U.S.
Currently, McDonald’s most substantial individual burger is the Quarter Pounder, which roughly competes with Burger King’s Whopper.
Although both are made up of patties that supposedly weigh four ounces before cooking, the Whopper has 670 calories, while McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese contains just 520 calories.
McDonald’s has previously experimented with larger burgers, but offering larger versions of the ones it currently offers.
In January, the Double Big Mac (which has four patties instead of two and extra sauce) returned for a limited time. It cost about $7 and was a hit while it was on sale for a month.
McDonald’s new, bigger burger is part of its plan to lure customers back.
In late July, the chain reported a surprise drop in sales in the April-June quarter as customers cut back on trips to the fast-food giant.
The Chicago burger giant introduced a $5 meal deal at its U.S. restaurants in June — a McChicken or McDouble, four chicken nuggets, fries and a drink — as part of its plan to lure back value-conscious customers.
Chains are generally reeling from falling customer numbers as Americans, fed up with two years of price hikes, stay away, so most are rolling out all these deals.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said the burger will cost an arm and a leg
McDonald’s is bringing back the Double Big Mac on January 24, but it might only be for a limited time
McDonald’s to open CosMc, a subsidiary that focuses more on coffee and drinks than food
From Burger King $5 Your Way Meal offers four items like McDonald’s. Wendy’s also has a similar $5 offer, as well a $3 breakfast deal .
Meanwhile, a McDonald’s customer pointed out a frustrating glitch in the fast food giant’s app in a viral video on TikTok.
The man, Stephen, informed his followers that his egg, cheese and meat bagel was more expensive on the McDonald’s app than on the drive-thru menu.
He realized this only when the app didn’t work for him, at which point he decided to drive to the restaurant and place the order via speaker the old-fashioned way.
McDonald’s has also begun rolling out CosMc, a subsidiary that focuses more on coffee and drinks than food and is said to be inspired by Starbucks. When it first opened, it was so busy that cars would queue for hours.