McDonald’s spin-off brand, CosMc’s, explained

McDonald’s debuted its new restaurant, CosMc’s, earlier this month, and some marketers are lovin’ it.

CosMc’s, which the fast-food chain describes as having a “beverage-led” menu, takes its name from a McDonald’s character from the ’80s, an alien that stole McDonald’s menu items to bring to its home planet, CosMcland. The new brand employs imagery of aliens and planets set against a blue and yellow color scheme, with one-half of McDonald’s iconic golden arches visible on signage.

The offerings will feature various coffees and iced beverages, as well as items from McDonald’s breakfast menu, according to CosMc’s website. McDonald’s is testing out the CosMc’s concept at one outpost in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Illinois, with plans to have roughly 10 locations by the end of 2024.

According to Braden Douglas, founding partner at Crew Marketing Partners, CosMc’s could help McDonald’s compete with other fast-food players like Starbucks.

“They’ve got all these different meal occasions, but when it came to beverages and snacks, they were always struggling there,” Douglas said. “I think that’s where other companies like Starbucks and even Dutch Brothers have been filling this void.”

McDonald’s use of the CosMc character instead of an already popular character like Grimace may stand to help the new brand appeal to a younger demographic, Douglas said. The value of the CosMc character, he said, lies in its backstory, which McDonald’s can use to build its brand identity.

But one thing that could set this spin-off brand apart is its ability to employ the brand reputation of McDonald’s, Douglas said.

“People know that McDonald’s has been a successful franchise for a long time,” he said. “You have to have enough of that familiarity, but then you have this slight twist that creates a new intrigue for a new audience.”