McDonald’s Corp. is warning restaurants to chill out on Smoothie promotions so the chain has adequate supply when the product is launched nationally this month.
Smoothies, the latest in an expanding beverage line at McDonald’s, will be backed by a national marketing campaign starting July 13, but some restaurants, already stocked with the drink mix, have begun selling the product, in some cases without the company’s permission.
McDonald’s is trying to rein in sales in the two weeks before the company throws the full weight of its national marketing machine behind the product, according to internal company documents. McDonald’s has ordered some stores in the South and Midwest to stop offering free samples in stores and to cut down on tasting events, where trucks offer samples at sporting and other gatherings. Some Southern markets are being told to take down posters and other in-store signage promoting Smoothies, unless they have a “Coming Soon” tag.
Smoothies supplies are “flying out too fast and the supply chain was predicting a catastrophe if they didn’t reel it in some,” said one McDonald’s franchisee who declined to be named because the company forbids store operators from discussing internal matters.
