After Half a Century, McDonald’s Is Doing Something New Tomorrow Morning
Back in the early 1970s, one of McDonald’s most famous breakfast items almost didn’t happen. It wasn’t created in a corporate boardroom or focus group.
It came from a franchisee who had a weird idea and didn’t want the boss to shut it down before giving it a try. That item, of course, was the Egg McMuffin.
Ray Kroc, the man who turned McDonald’s into a global giant, wasn’t exactly sold at first. In his memoir Grinding It Out, he recalls getting a call from Herb Peterson, a franchisee in California. Peterson said he had something to show him - but wouldn’t say what.
“He didn’t want me to reject it out of hand,” Kroc wrote, “which I might have done because it was a crazy idea - a breakfast sandwich.”
When Kroc finally saw it, he wasn’t too impressed by the look. But once he took a bite, everything changed.
“Wow!” he said. “I wanted to put this item into all of our stores immediately.”
He liked the taste, loved the fact that someone in the franchise network had created it, and saw right away that it could open up a whole new business segment: breakfast. Within a year, the Egg McMuffin was everywhere.
Fast-forward 50 years, and McDonald’s is still serving that same sandwich. But now, it’s adding a twist that says a lot about how American tastes have shifted since the early ’70s.
Starting July 8, McDonald’s debuts spicy McMuffins with bold pepper sauce for a limited time.
Back when the Egg McMuffin launched, the U.S. had about 210 million people. Today, that number is closer to 340 million. And in that time, our eating habits have definitely changed.
We’re more adventurous, more health-aware, and - maybe most noticeably - much more into bold, spicy flavors. So it’s not all that surprising that McDonald’s has decided to introduce a spicy version of its longtime breakfast staple.
Starting July 8, customers will be able to order a Spicy Egg McMuffin at participating locations across the country. The new version includes everything people already like about the original, but with McDonald’s signature Spicy Pepper Sauce added in.
And that’s not all. There’s also a Spicy Sausage McMuffin and a Spicy Sausage McMuffin with Egg. It’s part of a limited-time summer menu update, but the timing and concept feel anything but random.
Gen Z is driving the spicy food trend, and even older generations are joining in.
Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are driving the demand for spicier food. According to a 2024 survey, 78% of Gen Z consumers say they like or love spicy flavors - and 66% say they’re more likely to buy something if it’s labeled spicy. It’s not just talk; these preferences are changing menus across the country.
Millennials aren’t far behind. They helped fuel the sriracha boom and a long list of other spicy trends. Even Gen X has gotten in on the action. It’s only the older generations - Boomers and the so-called Silent Generation - who didn’t grow up with hot sauce in the pantry.
But even that’s changing. In 2022, a Harris Poll found that nearly three-quarters of Americans say they eat hot sauce with their food.
What McDonald’s is doing here is a great example of how to update a product that people already love without messing it up. The original isn’t going anywhere.
You can still order it exactly the way it’s always been made. But for people who want something with a little extra bite - or who are part of the spicy-loving crowd McDonald’s is now clearly courting - there’s something new to try.
It’s a smart move. It shows they’re paying attention to food trends and customer preferences, but they’re not throwing out what works. Whether it becomes a permanent menu item or not, the Spicy McMuffin keeps up with the times.
