The unexpected McDonald’s menu item about to have a mega spike in popularity – even though it’s always available
Every year on just one day there’s an unexpected McDonald’s burger that sells like hotcakes, taking the lead in sales across Australia.
Arguably one of the most controversial items on the menu, the Filet-O-Fish sees a significant spike in sales every Good Friday.
‘We can confirm that each Macca’s restaurant sells an average of 126 Filet-O-Fish on Good Friday, which is a whopping 319 per cent increase in comparison to an average day,’ a McDonald’s Australia spokeswoman told FEMAIL.
‘With over 1,020 McDonald’s restaurants across Australia, 128,520 Filet-O-Fish burgers are sold on Good Friday.’
So how did the Filet-O-Fish become one of the all-time classic McDonald’s burgers?
Dating back to 1962, American franchisee Lou Groen urged the fast food chain to add fish to its menu after he noticed a declined in sales on Fridays.
Groen, whose restaurant was located in a predominantly Roman Catholic neighborhood, came up with the idea of a breaded whitefish burger to cater to customers who abstained from eating meat on Fridays during Lent.
At first, McDonald’s executives were not sold on the idea of adding a fish burger to the menu because it required a more complicated cooking process.
Arguably one of the most controversial items on the menu, the Filet-O-Fish sees a significant spike in sales at Macca’s every Good Friday (file image)
In fact, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc had plans for what he described as the Hula Burger – a slice of grilled pineapple and cheese on a bun.
Kroc made a deal with Groen to sell both the Hula Burger and the Filet-O-Fish on a Friday – and whichever sold more would become a permanent menu item.
Much to Kroc’s surprise and disbelief, McDonald’s sold 350 Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, while only six Hula burgers were ordered.
In 1965, the Filet-O-Fish was the first addition to McDonald’s original menu – it was the only non-hamburger option, sold at the time for just 29 cents.
‘The Filet-O-Fish has become a popular menu item enjoyed by millions of customers around the world,’ McDonald’s Company Historian Mike Bullington said.
‘Many franchisees have inspired McDonald’s menu items from the Filet-O-Fish and Big Mac to the Egg McMuffin and it’s been great to see the popularity grow for such iconic menu items.’
