McDonald's took a gamble when it added apple slices to the Happy Meal side options in 2012. The fast-food chain hopes parents and their kids enjoy cute little oranges too.
McDonald's will add Cuties clementines from Sun Pacific to its Happy Meal menu as a seasonal fruit option this fall, according to USA Today. "Junior" bananas are being tested in the Austin, Texas, market as well. The Chiquita-supplied fruit measures about 5.5 to 7 inches and can fit into a kid's hand.
The chain also is considering blueberries and grapes, which have sold well in Europe. The goal is to seasonally rotate more whole fruits because they require less labor and packaging.
"This is consistent with what we've said we'd do," said Greg Watson, senior vice president of menu innovation for McDonald's. "This is part of the journey we started four years ago to make mom feel better about Happy Meals."
McDonald's has sold more than 1.1 billion packages of apple slices since 2012. The restaurant tested the Cuties (small and easy-to-peel oranges) at 100 locations around Austin for about 12 weeks. "The feedback was overwhelmingly positive," Watson said.
The push for more fruits, vegetables and non-fat/low-fat dairy products comes after McDonald's pledge last year to increase these options by 2020, according to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. It also took soda off the Happy Meal menu, although parents can still order it for their kids.
Vegetables have proven more difficult to sell to children. A baby carrots option failed several years ago, even when the carrots were shaped like favorite characters.
"It's much more challenging to come up with vegetables that kids will be excited about," Watson said.
McDonald's has found success with a 50-calorie version of Go-Gurt Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt. The Happy Meal side option from General Mills has 25 percent less sugar (six grams) than regular Yoplait Go-Gurt.
