McDonald’s is closing all CosMc’s stores by the end of June and will begin trialling drinks from the concept in its core restaurant network.

The fast-food giant launched CosMc’s last year as a small-format beverage-led concept built around an alien character from its McDonaldland fantasy world. 

CosMc’s was designed to capture afternoon traffic, a period when the chain typically sees slower sales. The pilot debuted near the company’s Chicago headquarters before expanding to seven locations in Texas.

“This is a $100 billion category that’s growing faster than the rest of casual dining and with superior margins,” said McDonald’s chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski. “It’s a space that we believe we have the right to win.”

However, Kempczinski noted that the drinks and operating model proved too complex for integration into standard McDonald’s locations.

Of the original eight test sites, five remain open. All will close by the end of June, along with CosMc’s mobile app.

The company used the concept to experiment with new technology, such as drive-thru lanes that prioritised orders based on complexity and a dynamic menu that adapted to customer feedback.

Despite winding down the stores, McDonald’s plans to test CosMc’s-inspired drinks – such as a matcha iced latte, turmeric spiced latte, frozen sour cherry energy drink, and prickly pear slushy topped with popping candy – in its mainstream restaurants across the US.