Invented by Herb Peterson in 1972, McDonald's Egg McMuffin kept me company many a weekend morning before I read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation.
The McMuffin is one of the healthier items on McDonald's breakfast menu (relatively speaking at 300 calories, 12g of fat, and a whopping 87% of your cholesterol RDA).
The McMuffin, oft-imitated (Sheetz Shmuffin) but never overthrown, is still an innovation that defined a new era for fast food joints everywhere - portable, complete breakfast in a sandwich format. Old Herb saw a customer niche need - breakfast you could grab on the go and eat cash-and-carry-style in the car.
With Starbucks' recent move to eliminate breakfast sandwiches due to their scent-sory interference with our java experience, I wonder if McDonald's will innovate yet again and enlarge the line? The two titanic firms are battling it out for our coffee patronage (along with Dunkin' Donuts) and it will be interesting to see how this opportunity plays out for the Golden Arches.
I for one would love to see a version with less fat, sodium, and calories (use low-fat cheese, egg whites/Egg Beaters, whole grain English Muffins, etc).
Herb's sandwich is still an innovation that defined a new era for fast food joints everywhere - portable, complete breakfast in a sandwich format.
RIP Herb. Your little round sandwich defined a new service line for your industry; a good lesson for all of us.
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