A Bite of Business History: The Egg McMuffin Turns 45

 by Chris Lucas

Guest Column

The Keating Files – June 5, 2021

 

This month marks the 45th anniversary of the national rollout of the sandwich that saved McDonald’s and changed fast food forever ... The Egg McMuffin.

 

Before 1976, it was almost unheard of in America to have breakfast anywhere but in your own kitchen. Cereal was the most popular choice. If you ran late and had to leave without sitting down to eat, you were pretty much out of luck.

 

In 1972, a McDonald’s franchisee in California came up with the idea of an open faced breakfast meal - his version of Eggs Benedict. McDonald’s owner Ray Kroc loved the taste, but wanted it made into a sandwich you could eat quickly and easily with one hand only. 

The company spent another four years getting it just right before introducing it across America. The Egg McMuffin (so named by Patty Turner) was a smash-hit classic right away. 

 

McDonald’s sales had been lagging at that point, as more and more fast food chains opened up. They all generally didn’t start serving food until 11AM. The Egg McMuffin gave McDonalds a three hour jump start on the day. Competitors tried to match that.

 

Burger King - the first to copy McDonalds, with their Croissanwich - didn’t start serving breakfast until 1983, and everyone else followed them.

 

Today, breakfast sales account for more than 50% of fast food revenue. It’s estimated that one out of every four people eat a fast food breakfast at least once a week.

 

Though fast food is often thought of as unhealthy or overly processed, the Egg McMuffin is not so bad. 

 

It’s made with a real egg that is poached and not fried. It has a small circle of Canadian bacon, a single slice of American cheese, and real butter. Together, this totals to 290 calories, 12 grams of fat with about six of those grams coming from saturated fat, 17 grams of protein (34 percent), and 29 grams of carbs (10 percent.) It’s also the only egg item on McDonald’s menu made with freshly cracked eggs from a shell, not processed.

 

McDonald’s, now one of the biggest mass purchasers of eggs in the world, finally made breakfast meals an all-day thing in 2015. As soon as they did, their sales doubled.

 

Amazing how a change of cultural habits can come from one simple idea.

 

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Chris Lucas is an actor, writer, something of a cultural historian, and the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, from the Man to the Mouse and Beyond.

 

On the PRESS CLUB C Podcast, enjoy Ray’s recent discussion with Chris Lucas about his career as an actor, author and Disney expert. Tune in right here!