CosMc's: menu items, is new McDonald's restaurant coming to UK, locations - and concept explained

McDonald's has unveiled CosMc's, a new restaurant concept targeting the same market segment as Starbucks. The pilot, set to launch this month in Chicago, plans to expand to 10 locations by 2024.

The fast-food giant is also aiming to establish 10,000 new global restaurants by 2027, with a significant focus on China, raising the total global count to around 50,000.

What is CosMc's?

The first CosMc's will open this week in Bolingbrook, Illinois - a southwest suburb of Chicago - with 10 more locations slated for Texas in 2024.

Featuring a menu tailored for the sweet-toothed, it offers treats like the Churro Frappe and S'Mores Cold Brew, alongside McDonald's classics like Egg McMuffins. McDonald's already operates its McCafe chain, which is solely dedicated to serving coffee and sweet treats.

CosMc’s locations will occupy less physical space compared to a standard McDonald’s site, and the new spots are experimenting with various layouts, including multiple drive-thru lanes. Customers using credit cards will also be able to swiftly pay at the drive-thru speaker, enhancing service efficiency.

CosMc's draws its name from a McDonaldland character, an outer space alien that featured in late '80s and early '90s ads craving McDonald's food - the company has focused on marketing its mascots following the successful launch of the viral Grimace Birthday Meal earlier this year.

Will CosMc's be coming to the UK?

There's no indication yet of whether CosMc's will arrive on UK shores. As of now, all we can do is wait patiently.

McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski has downplayed initial excitement around CosMc's, saying that investors shouldn't get too excited about the concept, but that it could go global.

"It's not worth our time to develop an idea that will only work in one market," he told investors on Wednesday (6 December). "Let me emphasise again, we’re talking about 10 stores.The big story isn’t about CosMc’s, per se. The big story is what it says about McDonald’s and our potential.

"To think, a little over a year ago, this was an idea, and this week we’re opening the first test site.” McDonald's remains a go-to during cost-of-living crises, unfazed by fluctuating consumer spending.

Their growth plans include 900 new US restaurants, 1,900 in self-operated international markets, and 7,000 in licensed international markets, with over half slated for China, which could eventually become the company's largest market.