McDonald's Offering Newest Menu Item - The McShrimp Burger

[matcom]

<snip>

TOKYO --Struggling to lure customers back amid increased competition, McDonald's is adding a new item to its menu in Japan: the shrimp burger.

The 270 yen ($2.40), burger, shown to reporters Friday and set to go on sale this month, is the latest effort by the Japan unit of the U.S. fast-food chain to win over Japanese palates -- and spark sales.

McDonald's Japan is also testing other additions, including chicken salad and yogurt.

The hamburger chain with more than 3,700 stores in the world's second largest economy has tried everything from tofu burgers to advertising blitzes to coax diners back to the Golden Arches after the company posted a loss in 2002 amid the mad cow scare.

"Many people who used to come to McDonald's had stopped coming, but they're coming back," said Eikoh Harada, who took over as chief executive in 2004.

Profits at McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) Ltd., about 50 percent owned by the U.S. McDonald's Corp., have been gradually recovering since its first loss in 29 years in Japan. Although McDonald's uses Australian beef unaffected by mad cow disease, the fatal brain-wasting ailment, Japanese consumption of beef -- and Big Macs -- dropped sharply at the time.

A major challenge for Tokyo-based McDonald's, which is still Japan's No. 1 restaurant chain, has been to ward off intensifying competition from a burgeoning spate of discount eateries and convenience stores.

Also, the Japanese market is increasingly problematic for McDonald's: people are having fewer children while the population is growing older and health-conscious.

Jotaro Fujii, a food business consultant with experience in the Subway sandwich chain, believes McDonald's is running out of ways to cut costs but still having a hard time raising prices.

"It needs to communicate its true value of American culture and hamburger culture, but now it's coming off like another cheap store," Fujii said, adding that people are increasingly turning to low-calorie Japanese dishes as well as to gourmet burgers.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2005/10/14/mcdonalds_in_japan_offers_shrimp_burger?mode=PF

[KitchenWitch]

1. EEWWWW

That is like eating steak at the Old Country Buffet...

:puke:

[matcom]

2. True Story. The Brunswick Maine McDonald's Has....

Lobster Rolls on the menu every summer.

imagine. McLobster. In Maine. :eyes:

[KitchenWitch]

3. EEEK

that just sounds vile.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

4. Knowing how cheap and awful McD's is

whaddya want to bet the shrimp in question are those really tiny ones, sort of on the "sea monkey" level?

[KitchenWitch]

5. mmm sea monkeys!

:rofl:

[GrpCaptMandrake]

6. I kept waiting for them to build the castle

and start their civilization! Where was that Benevolent King, the Nurturing Queen, the Precious Prince and Princess?

An early initiation into the pitfalls of paying attention to ads in the backs of comic books, or most anywhere else!

:dunce:

[KitchenWitch]

21. OMG

That is funny!

[DanCa]

7. I gotta mc hurl (nt)

[Darth_Kitten]

8. One can only imagine what the special sauce would be...

:scared:

SHRIMP burger?

[Bassic]

9. Man, that's got to be dangerous. nt

[MarsThe Cat]

10. i for one welcome the idea of more fast-food seafood selections...

although i'd have a hard time with McSashimi.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

11. They're defying God's wrath.

http://godhatesshrimp.com

[anarch]

12. I have some more ideas for them:

1. McPizza

2. McLiver

3. McEggroll

4. McHaggis (it is a Scottish restaurant, after all, right?)

[eyesroll]

14. There was a trial of McPizza in a few markets

.Mmm...McHaggis...

[Sabriel]

17. How about McLutefisk?

You could serve it in a McLefse roll.

And end your meal with a big helping of McRommegrot.

[nickinSTL]

20. uh, lutefisk?

yuck.

Although more commercially available lefsa would be nice. :D

[Shell Beau]

13. .

:puke:

[underpants]

15. I think I dated her

:bounce:

[TimeChaser]

16. Some Japanese McDs have fried macaroni and cheese

sandwiches, I believe.

[philosophie_en_rose]

18. Seafood at McDonald's --> no thanks.

Who in their right mind would trust McDonalds with seafood? (The Fish Filet is an exception, because we all know that it's not real fish).

[nickinSTL]

19. SHRIMP?

:puke:

I can't stand it even when it's done WELL.

[Left Is Write]

22. No, thanks! If I'm eating shrimp in Japan, it's NOT coming from McDonalds!

[NaturalHigh]

23. Shrimp at McDonald's?

None for me, thanks.