McDonald's is betting on chicken and beverages to fuel its next phase of growth, but new consumer spending data suggests the fast-food giant faces stiff competition from rivals that specialize in those areas.
At its September investor day, McDonald's outlined plans to gain an additional 1.5 percentage points of global market share in both chicken and beverages by 2030. The chain identified the categories as significant opportunities to expand its business beyond beef.
CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC the size of those markets underscores the potential upside.
"Chicken is a $130 billion category. We have about a 20% share of chicken. Beverages is about a $230 billion category. We have a 10% share of beverages," Kempczinski said, saying McDonald's has more room to grow in those areas than in the $50 billion global beef category, where it has about a 40% share.
But new data indicates McDonald's could have a tough task in gaining spending from chicken and drink rivals. Many of the restaurant chains winning the most spending from McDonald's diners specialize in those two segments, according to exclusive data shared by Consumer Edge, which tracks credit and debit card transactions.