If you’ve ever been to In-N-Out, you know just how good their burgers are.
The traditional Double-Double is my personal favorite, but let’s face it – for such a small menu, they’ve got a lot of weird and fun combinations you can try with your food.
In-N-Out is amazing, no doubt.
And yet – America consistently prefers a different burger.
Why?
Well, I have some theories…
Follow The Coconut Mama
• For fun lists, healthy living tips, and bar conversation topics, make sure to follow The Coconut Mama. Click here to access The Coconut Mama’s profile page and be sure to hit the Follow button here or at the top of this article!
• Have feedback? Add a comment below!
Shutterstock
Let’s start with a little background data.
According to QSR Magazine’s data from 2023 (the most recent full year available – we won’t have 2024 data until sometime in August), here were In-N-Out’s primary stats:
– 398 restaurants (all company-owned — given In-N-Out’s extensive expansion plans, expect this number to clear 400 this year!)
– They did $1.246 billion in sales across all of those restaurants
– For an Average Unit Volume (AUV) of $3.13 million.
Shutterstock
That AUV is fantastic – of course, it doesn’t tell us how much profit each restaurant made, but it tells us that In-N-Outs do a TON of business.
(Which, if you’ve ever been to an In-N-Out and waited in a line of 30 cars to get there, well – you know just how busy they can be!)
But America’s #1 burger beat it on every metric.
And I mean EVERY metric.
Shutterstock
Here are the stats:
– 13,457 restaurants (12,772 franchised, 685 company-owned)
– $53.135 billion in US sales
– $4 million AUV.
Now, given the size, you can probably already guess who this has to be…
Shutterstock
It’s McDonald’s.
They sell more burgers than anyone else by a mile – I mean, they’re doing over 40x more in annual sales than In-N-Out…
But even vs the #2 burger chain in the US (that’s Wendy’s), they’ve got them beat more than 4-to-1.
Now, here’s the thing – I already know how plenty of people are going to object, and I’ll address those directly (because the data don’t lie):
Shutterstock
Objection #1 is simple: They’re only selling more burgers because they’re so much bigger!
And sure – McDonald’s has In-N-Out beat in number of restaurants by a mile – 13,457 to 398.
But AUV tells the real story here – because it measures how much revenue PER restaurant they’re generating.
And McDonald’s ALSO has In-N-Out beat here too – $4 million to $3.13 million.
Which brings me to the second objection, and the one that really kills me to dispel:
Shutterstock
Objection #2 goes something like this:
“Well, everyone who’s had In-N-Out knows it’s better than McDonald’s, so really it’s more beloved even if McDonald’s is more widespread.”
I really appreciate this objection, because it’s exactly how I feel.
I love In-N-Out, certainly far more than McDonald’s, and I think their burgers are far superior.
But unfortunately, the data doesn’t bear this out either…
Shutterstock
For a long time, In-N-Out has won surveys in California showing that it’s Californians’ favorite burger spot.
(And in my opinion – rightfully so.)
But a new study published in November by BetCalifornia that looked at search interest among Californians found that In-N-Out has been bumped off…
By none other than McDonald’s.
Here’s the thing:
Follow The Coconut Mama
• For fun lists, healthy living tips, and bar conversation topics, make sure to follow The Coconut Mama. Click here to access The Coconut Mama’s profile page and be sure to hit the Follow button here or at the top of this article!
• Have feedback? Add a comment below!
Shutterstock
If In-N-Out is losing to McDonald’s in California, that’s the final nail in the coffin of the idea that “it’s just because people haven’t tried In-N-Out.”
If you live in California and you haven’t tried In-N-Out, that’s been a VERY intentional choice. They’re everywhere!
But it turns out that Californians may in fact prefer McDonald’s to In-N-Out.
Crowning McDonald’s the true #1 burger in the USA.
Of course, that leaves us with one big question:
Why?
Shutterstock
No story is ever fully over, of course, but I think it’s worth looking into why McDonald’s has done so well.
Of course, consistency is key – you want the same tasting Big Mac whether you’re in California or Maine – but that’s kind of a cop out.
Because I think the real story of their success is due to their franchise model.
Shutterstock
Franchising carries a series of potential benefits and drawbacks. Let’s cover them briefly.
Potential benefits:
– Faster scale – they can offload the construction and operating costs on franchisees!
– Local innovation – franchisees can try new ideas, and if they work, they can filter up to corporate
Potential drawbacks:
– Can reduce consistency of experience (because different franchisees may operate a little differently from each other)
– Some franchisees may cut corners
Shutterstock
So on balance, it comes down to finding the “right” operating partner to serve as a franchisee.
And McDonald’s, frankly, has done a superb job of this – balancing consistency with local innovation.
McDonald’s franchisees have come up with all kinds of new menu items that have ended up making it to the global menu over the years, including (not a complete list):
– Big Mac
– Egg McMuffin
– Filet-O-Fish (originally intended as a Lenten option for practicing Catholics)
– The Happy Meal
Shutterstock
Go to In-N-Out today, and the menu looks…not all that different from how it did in the 2000s.
According to my research, since 2000, In-N-Out has added precisely two things to its menu: Hot cocoa and lemonade.
These are great additions, to be clear, but let’s face it – there’s just not a whole lot of NEW there!
Meanwhile, McDonald’s has…well, I won’t even bother going into all the changes, because as we all know, there have been a ton.
Follow The Coconut Mama
• For fun lists, healthy living tips, and bar conversation topics, make sure to follow The Coconut Mama. Click here to access The Coconut Mama’s profile page and be sure to hit the Follow button here or at the top of this article!
• Have feedback? Add a comment below!
Shutterstock
So there you have it – the story of why McDonald’s is America’s #1 burger today…leaving Wendy’s, Burger King, Whataburger, even In-N-Out in the dust.
At least for now.
And to be clear – I like In-N-Out’s burgers better!
But the data on this is clear: Most Americans – even most Californians! – prefer McDonald’s.
Shutterstock
Do you prefer McDonald’s to In-N-Out?
Or vice versa?
Let us know why in the comments!
Shutterstock
