McDonald's has announced the details of its new retro-style restaurant idea, CosMc's, which would operate in the same market segment as Starbucks. Its pilot, focusing on hot and cold speciality drinks, will open this month near Chicago, and it aims to be in 10 locations by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, the fast food giant plans to open about 10,000 McDonald's sites globally by 2027, with many in China. The expansion would boost the number of its stores to about 50,000. The first CosMc's is due to open in Bolingbrook, Illinois, near the fast food giant's headquarters, later this week, with about 10 more to open in Texas next year. The concept is the fast food chain's latest effort to crack the lucrative coffee market, especially in the US, where more than 60% of the country drinks at least one cup a day. The name for the new brand comes from a McDonaldland mascot, an alien from outer space that craves its food, which appeared in adverts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The menu appears aimed at people with a very sweet tooth, offering items such as Churro Frappe - a kind of Spanish doughnut - and S'Mores Cold Brew - s'mores are biscuits, chocolate and marshmallows. The company also promises customers the chance to make "otherworldly" drinks creations, customising their beverages with popping boba bubbles, or flavoured syrups. There will also be a small number of McDonald's staple food items on the menu such as Egg McMuffins.
