McDonald’s to offer Big Mac sauce in a bowl

() — McDonald’s announced changes to its signature burgers earlier this week, including adding more Big Mac sauce. Now, it’s giving fans a way to get even more sauce.

Starting next week, for a limited time, customers who order through the app will be able to get salsa Big Mac in a bowl at participating locations. In a nod to the Big Mac’s original blue and silver packaging, the bowl is blue.

While this is the first time the sauce will be available in this form, it’s not the first time McDonald’s has given customers the chance to get more sauce: In 2017, the chain gave away 10,000 bottles to enthusiastic fans.

McDonald’s focused on promoting its flagship items, a way to build excitement without introducing complexities to kitchens that might bring new products.

Dipping sauces, which don’t require employees to add an ingredient to burgers or make an entirely new menu item, are another way the company hopes to keep things simple and excite customers. Last year, McDonald’s brought back its Szechuan sauce for a limited time. Some celebrity meals also came with renowned dipping sauces, or previously only available in certain regions.

The deal is also a way to drive traffic to the McDonald’s app, giving the chain more insight into customers’ ordering habits and preferences.

Another way for McDonald’s to promote its flagship items is to try to simply make them better.
Earlier this week, McDonald’s said it is making a number of changes to the Big Mac and McDouble burger, as well as the classic cheeseburger, double cheeseburger and hamburger. Changes include softer buns, stickier cheese, adding onions to burgers right on the grill, and adding more Big Mac sauce. In 2018, McDonald’s announced it was switching to fresh beef for its quarter-pounders; and in 2021, it released a crispy chicken sandwich to replace previous iterations.