McDonald’s customers yearning for a return to 2016 will soon get their wish.
The Chicago-based fast-food giant acknowledged on Thursday that it plans to bring back the Snack Wrap some time next year, though it did not say when.
Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, told ABC’s Good Morning America on Thursday that the company plans to bring the product back next year.
“The Snack Wrap will be back in 2025,” Erlinger said.
He would not say when “for competitive reasons.”
McDonald’s followed this up with a post on the social media platform X:
snack wraps xx.xx.2025
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) December 5, 2024
McDonald’s debuted the Snack Wrap in the U.S. in 2006. It featured either crispy or grilled chicken, cheese, one of a selection of sauces and was wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. The product came with a relatively low price and was designed for customers looking for a low-priced snack item between meals.
But the product was pulled from nationwide menus in 2016, though it remained as a local option through 2020, when it was removed during a menu simplification effort.
It has remained off the menu largely because the company hasn’t brought back chicken tenders, which were used to make the wraps.
Customers haven’t quite forgotten them, however. “This has a cult following,” Erlinger told ABC. “I get so many emails into my inbox about this product.”
If you ever wonder if your posts here matter, they do. Snack Wrap Nation (yes, it's a true thing), you made this happen. Snack Wraps are, by far, our most requested item on @X or at our customer care service.
— Guillaume Huin (@HuinGuillaume) December 5, 2024
Competitors have already worked to fill the void, notably Burger King, which introduced Royal Crispy Wraps early this year. Wendy’s also introduced wraps.
McDonald’s executives have been telegraphing the return of wraps for some time. Company executives said early this year, for instance, that it wants to grow its McCrispy platform. “We see the potential to add another point of chicken share by 2026, in part through an expansion of our McCrispy platform into wraps and tenders,” CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts in February.
CFO Ian Borden followed that up with similar comments to an investor conference in March. “Think about the opportunity we’ve got in core menu, I would talk about chicken, the McCrispy platform that we’ve put in place in the U.S.,” he said. “We certainly believe to extend that equity over time into things like tenders and wraps where we’ll start to really develop the portfolio based on the strength of the equity we created behind that product.”
McDonald’s is making the comments at a time when the chain is looking to recover from what has been a tough year. The company watched traffic decline over customer price concerns, leading to the creation of a $5 Meal Deal offer.
Then, as sales and traffic started to return in October, an E. coli outbreak that sickened more than 100 people in 14 states largely halted any momentum. That outbreak is officially over, and the company is putting a major focus into marketing now.
Erlinger in fact revealed the return of the Snack Wrap after he answered some questions about the E. coli incident.
The Snack Wrap could give the company another value-oriented option it can include in an upcoming “McValue Menu” McDonald’s plans to start in January.
Franchisees have been pushing for a return of the Snack Wrap for months, in part to provide customers with an item engineered for low prices. “Snack wraps are craveable, relatively simple to produce, would require only a couple new menu items on the prep table and could easily satisfy the call for more affordable options on the menu,” the National Owners Association, an independent group of operators, said in February. “Let’s bring them back.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.