McDonald’s is to launch CosMc’s, a small-format concept, testing the spin-off brand at a few sites within a “limited geography” next year.

CosMc is named for an alien character who visited the McDonaldland fantasy world and featured in a series of McDonald’s commercials. The character also made a brief appearance in the video game M.C. Kids.

Global president and CEO Chris Kempczinski said the new concept will have “all the DNA of McDonald’s but its own unique personality”.

Kempczinski announced the pilot in a Q2 conference call which revealed the global burger brand’s comparable sales had risen 11.7 per cent. McDonald’s will reveal more details of its plans for the CosMc concept at its investor day in December.

Creative Bloq referenced the burger behemoth’s previous efforts at building on brand characters, citing the TikTok success of its former mascot Grimace.

This story was originally published on Franchise Executives.