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Breakfast market emerges as food industry battleground. Burger chains, cafes, and convenience stores expand morning menus and discounts to capture growing demand Published 2026.10.12. 00:37 The breakfast market is emerging as a new battleground in the food service industry. From burger chains to cafes and convenience stores, businesses are launching specialized products to target the morning time slot. This shift comes as dual-income households and single-person households increase, leading more people to seek simple breakfast solutions. No Brand Burger, a burger franchise operated by Shinsegae Food, has sold two morning-exclusive menus - including the 'Bacon Potato Egg Morning' - at its Seongsu-dong, Seoul store since last month. This month, it plans to add 2-3 more locations centered around downtown offices and university areas, expanding to over 10 locations next month. Although this requires advancing store opening times from 10 a.m. to 7 a.m. and incurring additional labor costs, the company believes profits will justify the expenses. Burger King expanded the number of stores selling morning menus from 58 to 120 in July and further increased it to 190 this month. Approximately one-third of its total 560 stores now offer breakfast. McDonald's, known for its morning-exclusive menu 'McMoring,' added two protein-enriched menu items to its McMoring options in June. Convenience stores are also aggressively targeting the morning market. CU saw the proportion of sales during the morning time slot, 5-9 a.m., in its ready-to-eat food category rise from 12% in 2023 to 17.2% last year. Earlier this year, it launched the 'Get(get) Morning' ready-to-eat food series. Its representative product, small kimbap, sold 3.5 million units cumulatively until last month. Discount events have become frequent. GS25 offers a 1,000 Korean won discount on Americano coffee when purchasing popular sandwiches, bread, or rice balls during morning hours. 7-Eleven provides a 30% discount on salads when paying with Kakao Pay Money daily from 7-11 a.m. this month. Strategies linking coffee purchases with breakfast discounts are also increasing. No Brand Burger allows customers to add coffee for 1,200 Korean won, while CU offers a 1,000 Korean won coffee discount when buying Get(get) Morning products. This approach encourages customers who come for cheap coffee to also purchase breakfast. Such combinations typically cost around 4,000 Korean won, covering both coffee and a meal. Cafes are adopting similar tactics. Starbucks has expanded its morning set options, which bundle sandwiches and beverages with discounts of up to 1,700 Korean won until 10:30 a.m., and increased beverage choices from three to six. With more people eating breakfast, morning set sales from January to July this year rose 15% compared to the same period last year. · This article has been translated by Upstage Solar AI. Editor's Pick

McDonald's app soars to 5th in App Store after monopoly game goes digital-only in October 2026. The McDonald's app climbed 56 spots to 5th in the US App Store after its annual Monopoly game launched on October 6th. This year's contest requires app use for all gameplay, directly causing a download surge but also a sharp rise in user complaints. Key takeaways * 01The McDonald's app ranking surged from 61st to 5th overall in three days, driven by the 2026 Monopoly promotion. * 02The game now requires players to scan physical game pieces using the app, making it mandatory for participation. * 03Daily downloads jumped from around 30,000 to nearly 55,000 immediately after the promotion began on October 6th. * 04The influx of users has caused a spike in negative reviews, with the 7-day average rating falling to 1.94 stars amid reports of technical glitches. * 05This app-centric strategy aligns with McDonald's goal of deepening digital engagement with its 210 million active loyalty users. Game on. On October 6th, the McDonald's Monopoly game began, but with a new rule: all play happens inside the company's mobile app. This change propelled the app from 61st to 5th place in the US App Store in three days. Chart ascent. Market Impact The McDonald's app showed a sharp climb in the App Store charts, starting on October 5, 2026. [1] It rose from 61st to a peak of 5th overall by October 8th, a 56-position jump. Within its own "Food & Drink" category, the app, which had been a consistent #2 or #3, claimed the #1 spot on October 6th and held it for at least four days. This movement directly followed a spike in daily downloads, which grew from approximately 30,000 to over 47,000 on the day of the launch, and peaked at nearly 55,000 the next day. [3] The Monopoly engine. Root Cause The clear driver of the app's performance is the 2026 McDonald's Monopoly promotion, which runs from October 6 through November 1. According to an official press release, all gameplay is now managed through the app. Customers must scan physical game pieces from purchased items into the app to collect properties or win prizes. [2] The official rules make downloading the app and registering for the MyMcDonald's Rewards program a requirement for participation. This strategy effectively turns a popular, long-running physical contest into a powerful engine for digital adoption. The app received an update (version 26.72.4) on October 2, just days before the launch. Digital strategy. Strategic Context The Monopoly campaign is a key part of a broader digital strategy for McDonald's, a company that ranked #10 in the 2026 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands list. Executives have called active loyalty members the "single most important digital metric," and the company reported having 210 million 90-day active users as of February 2026. To amplify its reach, the campaign also includes a partnership with the mobile game *MONOPOLY GO!*, bridging the physical promotion with an existing digital audience. This digital push occurs as McDonald's navigates unrelated challenges, including a class-action lawsuit filed on October 2nd over alleged AI-powered price-fixing, which the company denies. User friction. User Reception While driving downloads, the Monopoly promotion has also strained the app's performance and amplified user frustration. The app's 90-day average rating4]he App Store and Google Play - a primary ranking signal and one of the biggest conversion drivers on your product page. of 2.33 stars has fallen to just 1.94 over the last seven days. During this period, the share of 1-star reviews rose to over 61%. Recent reviews cite persistent technical problems. One user described the app as "constantly glitching and buffering." Another called the login experience a "nightmare" and added," Your app can't even scan your monopoly pieces ...I have a feeling that's intentional." These issues compound existing complaints about app speed and loyalty program limits. Monetization by proxy. Monetization The McDonald's app generates no direct revenue. Its purpose is to drive sales, a role highlighted by the recent download trends. Before the Monopoly game, daily downloads were steady at 25,000 to 35,000. On October 6th, the launch day, downloads jumped to over 47,000, a more than 58% increase from the prior day. The app functions as a loss-leader, converting marketing events into measurable digital engagement and, by extension, customer purchases. The spike in downloads shows the effectiveness of making the app an essential part of a high-demand promotion. Expert verdict. The app's high ranking is likely to continue as long as the Monopoly promotion runs, through November 1st. The need to scan game pieces should keep engagement high. However, the surge in negative reviews suggests the app's infrastructure was not fully prepared for the traffic spike. If these technical problems are not fixed, McDonald's risks damaging long-term user satisfaction and loyalty. Analysts will watch to see if this app-centric model becomes the standard for future national campaigns, but its success depends on providing a stable user experience to match the initial download incentive. * [1] The McDonald's app climbed from a rank of 61 on October 5, 2026, to a peak of 5 on October 8, 2026. "The McDonald's app climbed from a rank of 61 on October 5, 2026, to a peak of 5 on October 8, 2026, a 56-spot ascent." mwm analyticsMWM Intelligencemwm.ai * [2] Customers must peel physical game pieces and scan them into the McDonald's app to participate. "Customers must peel physical game pieces from eligible menu items and then scan them into the McDonald's app to redeem prizes, collect properties, or play an instant-win game." InstitutionalMcdonaldscorporate.mcdonalds.com * [3] Daily downloads surged from around 30,000 to nearly 55,000 in two days following the promotion's launch. "Estimated daily downloads surged from approximately 30,000 on October 5th to nearly 55,000 by October 7th." mwm analyticsMWM Intelligencemwm.ai * [4] The average rating has dropped to 1.94 stars in the last 7 days, with 1-star reviews accounting for over 61% of feedback. "The app's average rating is 1.94 stars in the last 7 days, with the percentage of 1-star reviews rising to over 61%." mwm analyticsMWM Intelligencemwm.ai 9 references Maxime Doussin Maxime Doussin is the CTO of MWM, where he leads engineering, data infrastructure, and the mobile-app market-intelligence platform. He writes MWM's weekly app trend analysis, drawing on proprietary ranking data covering millions of iOS and Android apps across 150+ countries. This article is an independent editorial analysis. App names, trademarks, and brands mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Market data and rankings referenced are based on MWM's proprietary estimates. Believe this article infringes your intellectual property? File a dispute