McDonald's is daring to try new things with its Quarter Pounder — a core global menu item and strong brand.

Here are the new items, which are being tested in Northern California, from Mark Brandau at Nation's Restaurant News:

• Habanero Ranch — with white cheddar, hickory-smoked bacon and habanero-ranch sauce

• Deluxe — with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle, mayonnaise and mustard

• Bacon and Cheese — with American cheese, bacon, red onion, pickle, mustard and ketchup

McDonald's has always been reluctant to mess with its core brands, but its willingness to test new ideas with the signature Quarter Pounder is a sign that it wants to further leverage its core items.

Tris3ct's Tim Nelson explained to NRN:

“Anything that brings the focus back to core products brings the focus back to bundled meals. If you innovate around your signature equities and do things that, while they bring new news to those products, can sell Extra Value Meals, you can work back to … getting customers in the habit of buying core products as part of a meal bundle, as opposed to a la carte.

This seems to be the right concept at the right time with the right burger. McDonald’s is lucky in that they’ve never played this card, and they’ve had the Quarter Pounder for how long? It’s fortunate that they have something that could be so substantially incremental to their offering and value perception.”

Scott Hume at Burger Business pointed out that McDonald's did the same with its Cheddar Bacon Onion — adding toppings to an existing menu item, the Angus.

NOW SEE: 12 McDonald's Menu Items That Failed Spectacularly >

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