The idea of McDonalds selling a $10.00 hamburger is one that is unreasonable to anyone that has ever eaten there but it is not impossible. During our current economic times, most restaurants would be hard pressed to sell a burger for that amount. However, in terms of value, would a $10.00 hamburger be much different in the eyes of someone willing to pay $6.00 for a Carls Jr. hamburger.
There are certain factors that would need to come into play before a chain store like McDonalds would be able to come out with a $10.00 hamburger and sell it for profit. The first step in launching this never-seen-before burger would be developing the way its made. McDonalds has the stigma of being rather unhealthy and cheap, but most people over look the possible damaging health problems for the otherwise inexpensive meal. As it would go, there is not a hamburger made in the U.S. at a fast food restaurant that could be considered even mildly healthy. Changing this impression would be the life or death of this new burger. "...a firm that introduces a totally new product with no close substitutes will have considerable pricing freedom."(MKTG, Lamb Hair McDaniel, Pg 278)
In our current state, healthy items are expensive. A pound of fatty hamburger costs less than half as much as a pound of fat free burger. Green picked tomatoes that are chemically processed to speed up ripening and give them their brilliant red color cost a fraction of daily farming of vine fresh organic tomatoes. Making simple ingredient changes that make the burger a more healthy substitute to a greasy dollar cheeseburger will also drive up production costs and therefore drive up the price. Going a step further and incorporating healthy growing and farming procedures such as grain fed cattle in open ranges as opposed to corn fed cattle in feed lots will also do more to clean up the image that McDonalds has created over the years and bring the ever growing "green" community back to their stores. "Customers determine the value of a product (not just its price) relative to the value of alternatives." (MKTG, Lamb Hair McDaniel, Pg 283)
However, McDonalds would not be able to successfully launch just one "Healthy" burger to change its value. The whole product line would have to be substituted with the new ingredients and all of the prices would have to raise a little to cover the increased cost.
Once the image of the company changes to one more in tune with the environment and the health of its customers it has essentially become a new product. As I stated before, new products have the ability to price higher than a product with many alternatives. McDonalds has changed the way we see food in the world, the way its grown, the way its delivered, the way we live. It will take a company like McDonalds, to create a mass change to a healthier lifestyle, a healthier community, and a healthier planet.
