McDonald’s has introduced a new Horchata Frappe drink as part of its late-afternoon McCafe menu at participating stores in Southern California. A traditional horchata is a chilled Latin beverage based on almond-rice milk flavored with cinnamon; the McDonald’s version is a creamy blended ice drink made with coffee, cinnamon and vanilla, then topped with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle.
McDonald’s Operators’ Association of Southern California is introducing the Horchata Frappe along with a McCafe Social Hour restaurant promotion that will run this summer. Starting May 12, customers can buy one McCafe beverage and get a second one free from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. Chains including Sonic and Starbucks have long been running these non-alcoholic takes on the happy hour to build traffic during off hours.
The McDonald’s horchata restaurant promotion, however, seems geared to attract the growing population of Hispanics, now comprising 18 percent of all QSR traffic, as reported in the May issue of Restaurant Business magazine.
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