In Germany, McDonalds has introduced a “burger configurator”. You pick from 21 protein variations, three types of buns and 28 extras such as salad, cheese or tortilla chips. Finally, you can give your customized burger a name and publish it to the world.

The sad part - you can’t order it! It’s an example of open innovation - the winning burger will be introduced to restaurants. It’s still a very smart move by McDonalds - at the very least, they’ll get some very valuable data on the preferences of their audience. It’s like a conjoint analysis on a big scale!

p.s. If you’re in New York and want to create your own burger and eat it, too, check out 4food.com.