Looking at McDonald’s now, with more than 38,000 restaurants in over 100 countries and a revenue of $21.1 billion (£16.8bn) in 2019, it’s hard to picture a time before it dominated the world. However, like all great success stories McDonald’s beginnings were tough – just two working class brothers with a dream to make $1 million before they reached 50. Here’s a look at how McDonald’s has transformed since its inception in the 1940s to present day.

In the early years of McDonald’s – before things were streamlined – the menu included root beer floats, ham and baked beans and other retro delights. And while these options were phased out in the USA in 1948, some McDonald's around the world still feel the influence of those early menu items. Today those visiting the Golden Arches in the Philippines have the option of coke, green apple, melon and lychee McFloats. In 2016 select New York and Seattle McDonald's sold Dr. Pepper floats too. 

Egg McMuffins were added to the national menu in 1975 after being created by owner and operator Herb Peterson, who ran the Santa Barbara McDonald’s in California. He modelled the sandwich off his favourite breakfast dish eggs Benedict. By 1976, McDonald's had perfected its whole breakfast menu. McDonald's breakfast fans take note – the Egg McMuffin is the only option to use freshly cracked eggs.

The iconic Happy Meal was added to menus across the US in 1979. They originally had a circus-wagon-theme and came with the standard hamburger or cheeseburger, French fries, cookies, a soft drink and, of course, a toy. Over the years McDonald's has given away Beanie Babies, Pokémon figures, Disney stickers and Lego toys. In fact, in 2011 McDonald's was said to be the world's largest distributor of toys.

McDonald’s decided to make salad an option in 1987, adding freshly-tossed ingredients with croutons and bacon bits to the menu. In 2003 it added premium salads and in 2005 salads landed on UK menus. However, they're not necessarily the healthier option – some have higher salt and calorie content than McDonald's burgers.

McCafés were introduced in the US in 2001, with the first to open in the Oak Brook, Illinois restaurant. Customers could now enjoy the relaxed feel of a café and sip on barista-made coffee while indulging in a piece of cake too. They were already going strong in Australia, introduced eight years earlier in 1993.

In 2017 McDonald’s began testing mobile ordering and payments in selected US restaurants. By the end of the year it was rolled out across the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia and China. The ordering service means customers are able to order food and pay via their phone before picking it up from the restaurant or having it delivered.

McDonald’s has even made its drive-thru menu boards digital. These boards change throughout the day to show customers the most timely and relevant deals and menu items. It also rolled out double-lane drive-thrus to make the experience more speedy. Very different to the days where there were paper menus that carhop waitresses offered through the car window. 

At the end of 2018 McDonald’s revealed plans to invest £4.5 billion ($6bn) on modernising 14,000 restaurants before 2020. The sleek new designs are called Alphabet 1, Alphabet 2, Wood & Stone, Ray and Natural Integrity. The minimalist black, white and wooden colour palette is a contrast to bright and bold colour schemes in the past and is perfect for McDonald's in the digital era.

McDonald’s pursuit of burger perfection continues today, with the recent announcement that this year they’ll be making a few choice tweaks to their iconic burger recipes and cooking techniques. Those changes, which have already been implemented in Australia, Canada and Belgium to much success, will, in the brand’s own words, “make our classic burgers even better”. 

But how do you improve on the perfection that is a 100% pure beef patty, pickles and special sauce? Well, it seems the answer is in the details. From now on, the Big Mac, McDouble burger and classic Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Hamburger will all boast softer buns that are toasted until golden brown. The onions are getting an upgrade, too. While at the moment the chopped white alliums that adorn your burger patty are added raw, the new menu innovation will see them sizzling on the grill first, resulting in greater depth of flavour all round.

It doesn’t end there though. If you’ve ever experienced the disappointment of a McDonald’s burger finished with cheese that’s failed to melt, firstly, we feel your pain. And secondly, fear not, it won’t happen again. This new menu innovation promises “hotter, meltier cheese” which, let’s face it, can never be a bad thing. And finally, from now on the Big Mac will be served with even more sauce. 

Now read the incredible story of Burger King