McDonald's
McDonald's is cutting its "extra value" meal options from 16 to 11. Reuters

Though McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s largest chain of fast food hamburger restaurants, that doesn't mean it doesn't have heavy competition. To stay ahead of its competitors, McDonald’s announced that it will soon offer free coffee at its U.S. locations for two weeks.

From March 31 to April 13, McDonald's restaurants will offer free small McCafe coffees, it said on Friday. Competition for the breakfast market is increasing as customers are buying breakfast on the go more than ever.

McDonald’s announcement comes as Taco Bell launched on Thursday a new breakfast menu that will be served daily beginning at 7 a.m. at most of its 6,000 stores nationwide. The new menu features a waffle taco filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, syrup and bacon or sausage. Taco Bell's unlikely supporter? Ronald McDonald, who, in addition to being McDonald’s clown mascot, is also the name of 400 Americans, according to the Associated Press. Some of those 400 people appear in a new string of commercials endorsing Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu.

Starbucks also expanded its breakfast menu recently to include eight breakfast sandwiches. The Seattle, Wash.-based chain offered free coffee with the purchase of a breakfast sandwich for a few days earlier in March.