MCDONALD’s has officially brought back a highly popular menu item after it was discontinued for nearly a decade, sparking lettuce shortages at the fast food giant.
While the return of the iconic Snack Wrap has answered fans’ prayers, it has also caused some trouble over at the Golden Arches.
McDonald’s officially returned the discontinued Snack Wrap to its menu in July[/caption]
The return of the Snack Wrap sparked lettuce shortages at McDonald’s locations[/caption]
After years of fan pleas, McDonald’s revived the beloved Snack Wrap, a warm tortilla filled with a new McCrispy Strip, crisp shredded lettuce, and shredded cheese, in both Spicy and Ranch flavors.
The menu change has already proved a lucrative move for the fast food chain, with McDonald’s seeing traffic increase by double digits each day from July 10 to July 12 – the first three days of the Snack Wrap drop – compared to the year-to-date daily average, per Placer.ai data.
In addition to a sales spike, however, the debut of the $2.99 offering has also triggered issues stocking certain toppings.
Some McDonald’s restaurants experienced temporary shortages of lettuce and other ingredients following the Snack Wrap’s return, according to restaurant operators and a company message seen by The Wall Street Journal.
McDonald’s directed affected US franchisees to temporarily stop adding shredded lettuce to McChicken sandwiches in order to preserve the leafy greens for the Snack Wraps.
The chain also instructed restaurant operators to suggest that diners unhappy with a lettuce-free McChicken to order the McNuggets or McDouble burger instead.
The McDonald’s Snack Wrap
Fans have been begging the fast food chain to bring the item back to the menu nearly 10 years after it disappeared.
2006: The snack wrap was first introduced on menus in locations nationwide.
2016: McDonald’s began to phase out the wrap, with former and current employees saying it was too complicated and time-consuming compared to what it cost customers.
2020: Some individual franchises across the US were still able to make and sell the snack wraps for several years. By 2020, the item was removed across McDonald’s restaurants throughout the country.
2023: McDonald’s revealed it would increase its focus on chicken offerings, including a snack wrap, in the coming years.
2024: Stores in North Carolina were spotted testing McCrispy chicken strips, a key ingredient for the snack wrap.
2025: The snack wrap will return to menus in the US.
The chain revealed that the brief lettuce shortages have since been resolved and the outages of other ingredients were also temporary.
McDonald’s added that, while it stocked up on supplies in accordance with projections for the Snack Wrap launch, the sheer number of customers that showed up led the ingredients to run out quickly.
“After nine years of pent up demand, fans showed up in full force to celebrate the return of the Snack Wrap,” McDonald’s said in a statement to CNBC.
“We’ve been blown away by the response, from packed restaurants with lines out the door to nonstop social buzz.”
The popularity of the Snack Wrap has secured it a permanent spot on the menu, with the chain confirming on its “Snack Wrap Files” website that it will be available for “as long as you keep enjoying it at McDonald’s.”
The chicken offering launched at a $2.99 price point nationwide, which is expected to be maintained and advertised in the US at least through the end of the year, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski revealed at the chain’s second quarter earnings call on Wednesday morning.
“We launched Snack Wraps with an attractive $2.99 nationally advertised price point and early results are encouraging,” began Kempczinski.
“Our franchisees also recognize the importance of the $2.99 price point, and we’re excited to announce that they recently voted to extend this advertising through the end of the year.”
Snack Wrap Flavors
The Snack Wrap features the new McCrispy Strips – a juicy chicken strip made with all white meat – topped with shredded lettuce and cheese, wrapped in a soft flour tortilla.
Foodies can score the $2.99 Snack Wraps in two flavors:
- Spicy: Bold, zesty and unapologetically fiery – the Spicy Snack Wrap brings the heat with a habanero kick that fans know and love from the Spicy McCrispy sandwich.
- Ranch: Smooth, rich and irresistibly savory – the Ranch Snack Wrap delivers a satisfying burst of cool ranch goodness, with hints of garlic and onion.
Source: Snack Wrap Files
THAT’S A WRAP
The original Snack Wrap was rolled out in 2006, made with a crispy or grilled chicken strip, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, and ranch or honey mustard sauce, all wrapped in a flour tortilla.
The beloved item was axed from the menu in 2016, sparking much outrage and cries among fans.
McDonald’s fans shared endless posts online begging for the Snack Wrap to come back, even starting a Change.org petition in 2021 that racked up more than 17,000 signatures.
It was fans’ cries for the Snack Wrap that ultimately revived it nearly a decade later, according to McDonald’s senior marketing director Guillaume Huin.
“If you ever wonder if your posts here matter, if they have an impact, if we even care, let me tell you something, you and you only with your countless posts and requests and petitions made it happen,” Huin wrote on X.
“They were in all our meetings, all our discussions, every single PowerPoint to make a case for it. You won, snack wrap fans. Thank you,” revealing that Snack Wraps were “BY FAR, our most requested items of all time.”
In addition to bringing back the iconic Snack Wrap, the fast food giant is launching five new “go-to” drinks after its Krispy Kreme fallout – but availability is limited.
Plus, McDonald’s newest fan favorite burger will get even cheaper as it joins the McValue menu.
Following McDonald’s highly-anticipated relaunch of the Snack Wrap, several locations temporarily faced lettuce shortages[/caption]
