After 12 months of declining sales, McDonald's is launching new products, including premium salads and all-white-meat chicken McNuggets, in order to attract consumers who are looking for healthier meal choices.

The new product line will feature salads with dressings from the Newman’s Own label from actor Paul Newman, and a lower fat, all-white-meat version of chicken McNuggets are being tested in New York. The company also began offering fresh fruit in Britain and has recently brought back its Grilled Chicken Flatbread sandwich in the United States.

The new salads, to include varieties such as California Cobb and Caesar, will replace the McSalad Shaker and cost about $3.99.

The new product line has been successful in test markets. For example, daily lunchtime salad sales at one store in the Chicago suburbs climbed from 20 to 25 to more than 100 after introducing the new products without advertising.

McDonald’s is the largest restaurant company worldwide, with about 30,000 hamburger outlets. Analysts remain skeptical about the success of the new menu items, as the company is perceived to be behind competitors in menu innovation and earlier attempts at new items, such as the lower-fat McLean Deluxe and adult-oriented Arch Deluxe hamburgers, were not very successful.

Some industry watchers support McDonald’s for offering healthy food choices in a time when pressures over obesity and nutrition are increasing. However, analysts don’t think the company will stray too far from their basic burgers and fries menu. Accordingly, McDonald’s delayed a decision to cook its french fries in lower-fat oil, saying that they are most focused on product quality and customer satisfaction.

Reuters Health March 10, 2003