Around the World: Could Egg be McDonald's Next Value Play?

McDonald's has long struggled to offer two beef patties on their value menu (going from the Double Cheeseburger to the McDouble and now offering the Daily Double for better margins).

Now, with rising beef prices, it looks like a possible solution is eggs.

Out in Malaysia, McDonald's has started offering egg as a beef patty substitute on their value menu with the new Beef & Egg and McEgg Deluxe.

The Beef & Egg is basically a McDonald's Hamburger with an Egg McMuffin-style egg on top of the beef patty, while the McEgg Deluxe features an egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and onion. Both are offered as part of a "McValue" combo deal with medium fries and a drink for 5.95 Ringgits (~$1.92 US) around lunch and dinner time.

Now this is not the first use of the McEgg moniker; the McEgg was first introduced in Malaysia back in 1987, but was eventually discontinued. McDonald's India also introduced a McEgg last year as a value-priced poached egg sandwich:

The India version features a soft, poached egg, onions, a sprinkling of masala (spices and herbs), and some sort of "vegetarian sauce" that looks to be mayo, on a steamed hamburger bun. It's offered as part of McDonald's India "Happy Price" value menu for 25 rupees (~$0.46 US).