Two new Big Mac sandwiches are now available at McDonald’s locations worldwide.
The new Big Macs will have the same signature beef and special sauce, but will vary in size from the original, according to Bloomberg. The Mac Jr. has only one patty and no middle bun, and boasts fewer calories than a turkey sandwich at Panera, while the Grand Mac has 860 calories and is about one-and-a-half times larger than the original.
The revamp comes 50 years after the original Big Mac was introduced to McDonald’s by Pennsylvania franchisee Jim Delligatti, who invented the sandwich to fill the stomachs of hungry miners working near his restaurants.
Delligatti died a few months ago at age 98, but his sandwich still lives on as a staple of the McDonald’s menu.
Last year, a memo circulated within McDonald’s franchises informed franchisees that only 20 percent of millennials had ever tried a Big Mac, opting instead for fresher offerings from In-N-Out Burger or Shake Shack, or opting out of beef altogether for healthier chicken or turkey.
The Big Mac makeovers are intended to give people more options so they might be willing to try the Big Mac for the first time, frozen patties and all, according to Bloomberg.
The Grand Mac certainly delivers on size and value. Its new packaging says, “You’re gonna need two hands,” but despite the truth of that statement, it only costs about 60 cents more than the original sandwich, Buisness Insider reported.
As for the Mac Jr., it just may satisfy a snack craving or be perfect for hooking the younger generation on those all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun for years to come.