McDonald’s Sucks Up Sweet & Salty Reactions With New Strawless Lids In Trial
Many swear that sodas at McDonald’s taste different. Well, a new packaging change might stir things up even further.
The fast-food giant has confirmed that it is trialing strawless lids for cold beverages in some US cities. The refreshed cups, first spotted by Restaurant Business Online, saw an initial rollout in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and they’re now being tested in selected locations nationwide.
Straw-free drinking cups aren’t new to McDonald’s. They’ve been in use in other markets for a while, but they’re finally being adopted in the US. Resembling the ones doled out by Starbucks, the lids have been likened to “sippy cups” due to a cutout made for drinking.
McDonald’s will be testing a new strawless lid. pic.twitter.com/jzFLzDmsq9
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) January 28, 2023
Those worried about splashes may rest easy. To work around this problem, McDonald’s has added a pullback tab to prevent drippage.
Patrons will have to lift the tab and fit it in a small slot to properly use the lid.
A McDonald’s spokesperson tells members of the press, including TODAY, that the strawless lids ensure McDonald’s packaging is optimized and that the company minimizes the use of small plastics.
McDonald’s emphasis on eliminating “small plastics” is notable, as the new lids are still crafted from plastic—a fact that customers are fixating on.
Wait to reduce plastic from straws the solution is plastic lids? pic.twitter.com/frE24dR6EE
— Johnnyswgger.eth (@LoveStruckKicks) January 28, 2023
Other consumers gripe that it’s going to be more challenging for them to drink milkshakes without straws.
A surprising number of customers appear concerned about their Sprite potentially tasting “spicier,” now that sips are going to get larger.
After that first sip of Sprite… pic.twitter.com/ZABYU4WsI6
— ʟᴇᴇʀá´Ê. (@IamKickz) January 28, 2023
Me drinking the sprite pic.twitter.com/s35KkrCrAn
— BossMan or IRE🤵ðŸ½ðŸ‡¯ðŸ‡² (@ire_sniper) January 28, 2023
One insists: “The straw affects the taste.”
For the most part, unhappy customers are worried that the strawless lids might be less hygienic than drinking straws, since workers have to secure the caps onto the cups with their hands.
“All I can see is germs… when the employee puts their hand on the lid to put it on,” laments one person.
That’s disgusting 🤮 that means the employees will be touching the lids as they already do with - FLITHY hands and now your mouth/lips will be directly touching the lids. F’ THAT!!!
— Gent12🇺🇸🇸🇻 (@VichitoFeo12) January 29, 2023
On the other side of the spectrum, fans are lauding the supposedly more environmentally-friendly packaging.
“I can’t applaud this move loud enough,” says one.
“I would prefer this [because] straws are nasty and bad for the environment,” another person chimes in.
McDonald’s PR representative does detail that the strawless lids are “just one example” of the several solutions the company is “reviewing” to cut down its waste across the world.
The new lids are its next significant step after McDonald’s swapped out plastic straws for paper alternatives in 2018.
In recent months, McDonald’s has come up with a few creative ideas to repurpose existing drinking cups and straws so as to keep them out of landfills. In July last year, McDonald’s Canada transformed plastic straws into trays, and then enlisted Canadian and Indigenous artists to decorate them with their ideas of sustainability.
Also, last September, McDonald’s in Germany dished out children’s books for Happy Meals that were made of 40% recycled cold cup material.
The brand has revealed that, as of 2021, “approximately 82.7% of [its] primary packaging materials and 96.8% of [its] primary fiber packaging comes from recycled or certified sources.” By the end of 2025, McDonald’s hopes to replace all of its packaging with 100% certified, recycled, or renewable materials.
