McDonald's specialty coffee starts slow

OAK BROOK, Ill., May 23 (UPI) -- McDonald Corp.'s attempts to move in on the specialty coffee market in the United States are off to a slow start, industry analysts said.

In four-week marketing tests in Kansas City, Kan., McDonald's franchises sold, on average, 301 coffee beverages per week, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

In Michigan franchises, stores sold 286 per week, creating a test-wide average of 293.

"Those numbers indicate they are off to a slow start," Technomic Inc. restaurant consultant Ron Paul told the Tribune.

But President of McDonald's USA Don Thompson said sales were "a little greater" than the company's expectations.

Industry experts say a restaurant should expect new items to reach 3 percent of total sales within six month to a year. Coffee sales in the McDonald's tests didn't make the 3 percent thresholds, the Tribune report said.

Stock analyst Jason West told the Tribune he would "probably like to see higher" numbers. But he was "not shocked" he said. "It will take awhile for it to catch on."