Woman goes to McDonald’s and switches her drink order from Coke to lemonade. Then she discovers what the chain is allegedly doing to match Chick-fil-A

McDonald’s is reportedly making a big change to its drink menu, allegedly following in the footsteps of Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s by offering hand-crafted lemonade in-store. Julie Ann Douglas, who goes by @julieannsurratt online, recently shared her experience after visiting McDonald’s to grab some food, BroBible reports. Douglas has noticed some inconsistencies with Coke fountain drinks lately, leading her to switch over to lemonade these days. She naturally assumed McDonald’s, being a Coke establishment, would offer Minute Maid lemonade.

Douglas asked for a Minute Maid lemonade but found out McDonald’s no longer carries it. Instead, she discovered the new lemonade McDonald’s is offering is allegedly on par with the quality you’d get at Chick-fil-A or Wendy’s. Douglas was really impressed with the taste.

“This is homemade lemonade, and it tastes great. It honestly does,” she shared, adding that McDonald’s is “going in the direction of Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A. Like if you want lemonade, you’re gonna have to pay extra for it since they make it with cane sugar or something else.”

This shift might mean customers will pay a bit more for the refreshing beverage

In a conversation, Douglas also mentioned how much the soda market is changing. She observed that some places are moving away from Coca-Cola fountain options entirely. “Honestly the soda market is changing a ton. H-E-B no longer offers Coca Cola fountain drink options at their BBQ restaurants, Its all H-E-B soda options. A ton of local places use the main root, and now a lot of restaurants are making the switch to Pepsi co items,” Douglas said.

While Douglas warns customers they might pay more for the new lemonade, she wasn’t sure if she was personally charged extra. She noted, “I actually don’t know for sure if I was charged extra. According to my research, lemonade is supposed to be a 30 to 60 cents upcharge at McDonald’s.”

She understands why there’s an upcharge for a craft drink, but she believes restaurants should be more transparent. “I do like the craft lemonades the places are making though and I do understand the reason for the upcharge at most of these places, but a lot of people may not realize they are ordering a craft drink. So I was just saying they should be transparent about it,” she explained.

It makes sense that you’d pay a bit more for craft lemonade. The price of lemonade usually depends on the cost of supplies, labor, and the supply chain. Things like cane sugar, lemons, and even water can directly impact the final cost. For example, a glass of lemonade reportedly cost 36 cents to produce in 2023, according to the St. Louis Fed. Lemonade prices have actually tripled since they were first measured in the 1980s. When a fast-food spot uses freshly squeezed lemons, the price will naturally be higher because it takes more work to make the drink.

Chick-fil-A’s lemonade is a great example of a premium drink that comes with a premium price. One gallon of Chick-fil-A lemonade reportedly costs over $12. An employee on Reddit even shared that staff members are limited to just one or two cups per shift because of how much it costs to produce. While Chick-fil-A now uses a pre-mixed lemon juice, workers and customers remember when the lemons were freshly squeezed.

One user wrote, “It’s a premium product that has a premium price. There’s additional labor required to make it vs the rest.” Another added, “They used to juice the lemons in store,” and a third person mentioned, “I just found out they no longer juice lemons in store.”