The economic downturn is hurting everyone across the board.  Sure, firms are getting boosts thanks to publicity stunts and noteworthy weird foods, but those things don’t last.  They might bump in the short term, but long term?  Everyone’s struggling, except for McDonald’s.  As the summer heats up, so does McDonald’s business, with sales up 5.7% in July thanks to the newly-launched McCafe line of fruit smoothies and frappes.

As it turns out, the cold drinks and the upper-market coffee beverage market has been a huge business for McDonald’s, allowing the fast food chain to successfully reinvent themselves as more than just a cheap McDinner, but as a place that is both affordable and good-tasting, even if it’s not exactly good for you.  It’s amazing what a marketing blitz and a little store improvement can do, isn’t it?

“Over the last several years, they’ve been very successful at improving the quality of their food,” said Stifel Nicolaus & Co analyst Steve West. “They’ve really invested in their brand.  McDonald’s has more broad-based appeal.  They’re not as exposed to single white males.  McDonald’s is appealing to soccer moms.  They’re appealing to high-end consumers.”

Tags: McDonald’s, McDonald’s McCafe, McCafe, food trends, fancy coffee drinks, business strategies, unusual business plans, franchise reinvention, McDonalds reaches sales milestone thanks to McCafe, smoothies

I’ve never had a problem eating food from a gas station.  Just two weeks ago, I ate a couple of hot dogs purchased from a gas station.  They were delicious.  That’s not the first time I’ve eaten gas station food, and I doubt it will be the last.  There’s nothing like a fun food novelty. […]

Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered 32 NFL owners for one big question.  One of the league’s most wanderlust-stricken franchises is looking to move again.  The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders, tired of gutting it out in a run-down stadium, were once again looking for greener pastures.  Only the Miami Dolphins refused to cooperate.  With a vote of 31-1, […]

In 2006, an injury to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for an undrafted free agent by the name of Tony Romo to take the helm of America’s Team and lead the Dallas Cowboys to an early playoff exit.  Bledsoe went from starter to afterthought in a season.  Now, the circle continues […]

For 89 years, Oscars has never had a major mistake.  The last few Oscars might have had a few flubs, but at least they never got the most important category of the night wrong.  Well, that’s now changed, all thanks to OG Bonnie and Clyde legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  When Faye Dunaway called […]

Tom Brady has been wildly successful, if controversial.  He’s the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls and only the second player to do so after Charles Haley.  Unlike Haley, Brady won all his Super Bowls with the same team, the New England Patriots.  The only thing that seems to be able to stop […]

Ben Affleck, no matter what you might think of him, is a talented actor and director.  He’s got the goods, but he’s smart enough to know when he’s in over his head.  All along, since he took on the mantle of Batman, he’s had his eyes on writing, directing, and starring as the Caped Crusader. […]

In May, students for the for-profit American College of Education were running into some problems.  Their access to email accounts and course information was locked down by Google, who had disabled their accounts.  The reason why?  A fired IT worker for the American College of Education locked the school out of their Google cloud account. […]