- McDonald’s CEO has three predictions for the fast-food industry in 2025.
- Chris Kempczinski talked about them in an Instagram video posted to his account.
- Kempczinski referenced protein, AI, and sauces.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski has some predictions for the fast-food industry this year.
Kempczinski shared three things he expects to see more of at fast-food restaurants, including McDonald’s, in 2025. He commented in a video posted to his Instagram account last week.
“I love to sit with the team and make predictions about what we think is going to come in the year ahead,” he said.
Here are the three things Kempczinski talked about:
McDonald’s CEO predicts that diners will want more protein
“Protein is hot,” Kempczinski said in his first prediction.
Many diners are looking to add protein to their diet, especially those trying to lose weight. People who are taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic often look for low-fat sources of protein, for instance.
McDonald’s already serves several kinds of protein, from burgers to chicken sandwiches to the Filet-O-Fish, meaning that the chain is well-positioned to serve those customers, Kempczinski said in the video.
Kempczinski says fast-food restaurants will continue looking at AI
Fast food chains have spent years experimenting with AI. Some are moving ahead with bigger rollouts, such as using voice AI to take customers’ orders at drive-thru lanes.
McDonald’s pulled its own voice-AI ordering system from drive-thrus last year. But Kempczinski predicted that chains — including his own — will keep experimenting.
“We’ve got a number of teams looking at how we can use AI,” Kempczinski said.
Sauces will be a focus for diners in 2025, Kempczinski says
One big theme in 2025 won’t be about what’s in the center of diners’ plates but what kind of sauces they’re using, Kempczinski said.
“Spicy is always in,” he said. “I think you might see some honey or some sweet stuff.”
McDonald’s has gotten patrons excited about sauces before. In 2017, it brought back a limited amount of Szechuan McNugget sauce, first released in tandem with the Disney movie “Mulan” in the 1990s, after the animated series “Rick and Morty” referenced the sauce in an episode.
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