There’s an adage that when petrol prices pass a certain threshold, they never fall below it again. For the QSR space, it would appear there is a similar maxim.
Given its broad footprint, McDonald’s has long been a solid barometer for pricing in the UK’s quick service segment and for a long period was seen nationally as a reliably cheap and accessible fast food option. Back in the day, we’re talking around the mid noughties here, it had the Pound Saver Menu, where you could get a range of items including a double cheeseburger, a medium fries, a McFlurry, and a medium soft drink for 99p each. This later evolved into the Saver Menu, which still exits today. Now, a double cheeseburger costs £2.49, while a small fries comes in at £1.29 and a Mini McFlurry costs £1.49.
Indeed, the surge in prices, particularly in recent years amid the impact of widespread inflation across the food and beverage sector, mean that many consumers no longer consider McDonald’s to be a bastion of cheap eats. Back in 2023, a Daily Express headline declared: “McDonald’s has got so expensive it is not convenient or affordable anymore - it’s crazy.” In its most recent financial results for the year ended 31 December 2024, McDonald’s UK reported a £14m fall in turnover with the group noting that its high street estate ‘continues to be impacted by challenging retail footfall’.
Late last year, though, McDonald’s endeavoured to reclaim its position as the go-to for convenience and affordability in the QSR space with the launch of its first £5 meal deal in the UK. The deal offers four items including a choice of a cheeseburger or chicken mayo, medium fries, medium drink and four McNuggets, and can save diners up to £2.50 on some menu items.
Whether McDonald’s meal deal will have a material impact on its turnover or customer perceptions of the brand is still to be determined, but it certainly appears to have encouraged other operators in the space to develop their own similarly priced value deal. Take German Doner Kebab (GDK). In September, the fast-growing QSR operator, which is set to reach the 150-site mark in the UK this month, launched the Fiver Menu, with five dishes priced at £5. The company said the menu is response to customer feedback, not only around more affordable options but also lighter portions and represents the first phase of an evolving offer, with more items being added as the brand continues to scale its presence across the UK high street.
Others to have waded into the value war include Pizza Hut, which has created a £5 Crafted Flatzz range of oval flatbread-style single portion pizzas. There’s also Greggs, which recently launched The Big Deal, whereby diners can choose either a hot or cold main, a side and a drink for, you guessed it, £5.
Sandwich slinger Pret, meanwhile, has launched its own meal deal that’s priced slightly higher at between £6 and £7, which includes ‘any bread-based sandwich, crisps, and a drink’. The meal deal is initially being trialled at around 70 Pret stores, with the company set to decide whether to roll it out across more of its 500 UK site in January 2026.
The price point is the crucial element here. For years, the meal deal has been a mainstay of retail and supermarket chains. Boots was a notable early pioneer of the sandwich-drink-snack combo, initially charging £2.50 for its meal deal back in 1999. Today it charges £3.99, or £3.75 for those with an Advantage Card. Tesco’s, meanwhile, recently increased the price of its meal deal by 25p, meaning it now costs £4.25 for those without a loyalty card or £3.85 with one.
Given those prices, the decision by QSR chains like McDonald’s and GDK to launch their own meal deals at just a slightly increased cost for consumers feels sensible; pitched at just the right point to tempt those who are fed up with eating the same chicken or tuna sandwich day in and day out. Amid an increasingly competitive landscape, the pressure to appeal to value-conscious diners is high, and as such more and more brands are likely to launch their own similar offers in the weeks and months to come.
The age of the QSR meal deal has well and truly begun, and it’s here to stay.
James McAllister is business editor at MCA Insight.