McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc loved Egg McMuffins for at least three reasons. He wrote about them in his memoir, Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s.

• First, he liked the idea that a McDonald’s franchisee had come up with the idea — and overcame his objections. “I got a call from Herb Peterson … who said he had something to show me. He wouldn’t give me a clue … He didn’t want me to reject it out of hand, which I might have done because it was a crazy idea — a breakfast sandwich.”
• Second, he thought they were delicious. “I boggled a bit at the presentation. But then I tasted it, and I was sold. Wow! I wanted to put this item into all of our stores immediately.”
• Finally, he loved how they expanded the restaurant’s business. “The advent of Egg McMuffin opened a whole new area of potential business for McDonald’s, the breakfast trade. We went after it like the Sixth Fleet going into action.”

Peterson first shared the Egg McMuffin with Kroc in late 1972; by the following year, it was a nationwide item and a massive success.

But a lot of things have changed in the past half-century or so.

For one thing, the U.S. population has grown about 62 percent: 210 million in 1973 compared with 340 million today.

For another, American tastes and palates have changed.

Most notably, we’re more adventurous eaters in 2025, more health-conscious — and especially, we like spicier foods.

That’s why the announcement McDonald’s made about the Egg McMuffin that goes into effect Tuesday is such a smart idea:

The word on the street is we’re turning up the heat on breakfast this summer. Starting July 8, you can add some kick to your morning routine with the sizzling debut of Spicy McMuffin breakfast sandwiches, available at participating restaurants nationwide.

This limited-time glow-up includes everything you already love about the iconic Egg McMuffin … plus a fiery, delicious twist: a shot of McDonald’s signature Spicy Pepper Sauce.

Fans can also enjoy the Spicy Sausage McMuffin and the Spicy Sausage McMuffin With Egg.

So, whether you’re fueling up for a morning marathon of meetings or just need something delicious to kick-start your day, these breakfast sandwiches deliver big, bold flavors.

Maybe I’m an early adopter.

If you go back to my prime Egg McMuffin-eating days — lots of early morning drives to work or to swim meets (different eras) involving stops at an interstate rest area for an Egg McMuffin and coffee — I definitely added hot sauce, if I’d remembered to bring it.

It might be generational. Exceptions abound, of course, but the so-called Silent Generation and Boomers who were the McDonald’s customers in the early days of the Egg McMuffin are generally less spice-enamored than younger generations.

But things are changing. Instacart teamed up with the Harris Poll in 2022 to survey Americans’ preferences and found that “74 percent of Americans eat hot sauce with their food.”

Gen-X and Millennials are more adventurous; in fact, one study says it was Millennials who “are responsible for many of the most prolific flavor trends in recent memory, like the sriracha craze [and] the demand for extra hot and spicy flavors.”

But, the biggest change — and probably the biggest reason why McDonald’s is trying a spicier Egg McMuffin option — comes from Generation Z.

A report last year found that “78 percent of Gen-Zers … either like or love spicy foods and flavors, while 66 percent say they’re more likely to purchase a food item if it’s advertised as spicy.”

What I like about this story — besides, perhaps, not having to remember to bring my own hot sauce to McDonald’s — is that it provides such a good example of updating a successful product to meet changing tastes without destroying what made it work to begin with.

It’s a small change, and a limited-time offer — at least for now. The way it’s being rolled out is smart:

Still like the original Egg McMuffin? So does McDonald’s; order away.

Want something a bit more bold — and maybe also happen to be in the core generation that McDonald’s is marketing to right now? There’s a new, spicier version you might like to try.

So, happy 50th birthday to a “crazy idea” at McDonald’s that has more than endured — it’s evolved.

Not everything from the early 1970s can say that.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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