Topline

McDonald’s fan-favorite snack wrap — which disappeared from most menus nearly a decade ago — is making a comeback and will be offered as an option for customers again in 2025.

Important facts

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Surprising fact

Snack Wrap fans asked rapper Doja Cat to join their cause after a video she made about Taco Bell Mexican Pizza prompted the fast-food chain to put the product back on the menu (and turn it into a Super to record bowl advertising).

Important background

Snack Wraps were first launched in 2006 and were later offered with beef protein options as well as chicken. Supermodel Heidi Klum took part in McDonald’s first marketing campaign for the product. The beef versions of the Snack Wrap were discontinued in 2013 and the original Snack Wrap was removed from most menus in 2016 (all individual franchises that originally stuck with the item had eliminated it by 2020). According to Business Insider, the menu items were removed partly because they didn’t sell as well as the company had hoped and partly because they took too long to make. Franchisees complained about how long it took to steam the tortilla, shred the chicken and fill the wraps, which were sold in nine varieties. The complexity doubled the amount of time the company’s policy spent servicing each customer, and consistency “was a nightmare,” one executive told Bloomberg.

What other McDonald’s menu items have returned?

McDonald’s is no stranger to bringing back canceled items by popular demand. It was announced that the McRib, such as a barbecue-flavored pork sandwich, would be discontinued in 2005, but several “McRib Farewell Tours” kept it on the menu until 2008. The product occasionally returned for special occasions such as the 2012 London Olympics. and McDonald’s announced it would return nationwide in 2020. Since then it has returned seasonally. In 2022, the fast food giant brought back – for a limited time – the Cheese Danish, a menu item that hadn’t been around since the 1980s. McDonald’s announced this year that it would bring back its Christmas cake, which was first introduced in 1999 as a promotional item for the movie “Toy Story 2.” The fan-favorite dessert consists of a custard in a crust that is then glazed with sugar and topped with rainbow sprinkles. It is available for a limited time in markets including Seattle, Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York City and Dallas.

Big number

About 14,300. That’s how many restaurants McDonald’s has in the United States. The chain has 36,500 restaurants in more than 100 countries.

tangent

Erlinger also apologized Thursday for an E. coli outbreak linked to the onions used in McDonald’s Quarter Pounders that sickened more than 100 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak halted sales of Quarter Pounders for a week before resuming without onions and prompted supplier Taylor Farms to initiate a voluntary recall of its yellow onions. On Thursday, Erlinger said the fast food chain had “let people down” and that he was sorry “for all of our customers who were harmed by this incident.” The CDC has since stated that the outbreak is over and there remain no concerns about the food safety of McDonald’s products.

Further reading

McDonald’s plans fastest growth in brand history with 10,000 new stores by 2027 (Forbes)

E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s has sickened more than 100 people (Forbes)

Digital transformation is on the menu as McDonalds innovates to lead the market (Forbes)