According to people familiar with the situation, McDonald's Corp. is planning to launch a package in the U.S. as low as $5, the burger chain is hoping that this low-priced package, can attract those who are careful with the budget of the U.S. consumers to return to the store.

According to a person familiar with the situation, the package could include a McChicken burger (McChicken) or a double cheeseburger (McDouble), as well as fries and a drink.

In fact, during McDonald's first-quarter earnings call, the company's CEO Chris Kempczinski mentioned that McDonald's has to be very focused on affordability for people, given that consumers are becoming more price-sensitive. He pointed out that it is really important to note that all income groups are looking for value, and that the company will offer "entry-level packages" that are "attractively priced" for those items that consumers are familiar with.

McDonald's shares rose 2.63% in New York on Friday, the biggest gain since January 2023, after the news that the company is expected to launch lower-priced packages.

In contrast, Wendy's Co. which is McDonald's main competitor in the U.S. market fell as much as 2.2 percent, and Restaurant Brands International, parent company of Burger King, fell 0.5 percent.

At McDonald's, franchisees are often required to cooperate with McDonald's in major marketing campaigns as well. Earlier this year, McDonald's tried to get franchisees to support a $5 menu initiative, but that ended in failure, the person familiar with the matter said. about 95 percent of McDonald's roughly 13,400 restaurants in the U.S. are operated by franchisees.

Some operators feared the promotion, which lasted about four weeks, would result in losses, especially in states such as California, where the minimum wage for fast-food workers jumped 25 percent in one fell swoop to $20 an hour earlier this year. But McDonald's said the franchisee's cash flow has grown about 50 percent since 2018 and is still rising.

In an effort to make the package more attractive to franchisees, McDonald's has mobilized Coca-Cola Co. to help underwrite some of the capital costs, which could help mitigate potential earnings shrinkage for franchisees, the person familiar with McDonald's said.

But the size of Coca-Cola's contribution has yet to be determined, and McDonald's itself is not expected to put up the capital, the people familiar with the situation said. Coca-Cola has often previously provided financial support for its customers' marketing programs.