McDonald's Brings Back the Snack Wrap. Why Was it Ever Discontinued?

Earlier this month, McDonald's officially brought back the fan-favorite Snack Wrap and it has been an instant hit, with a surge in demand greater than the fast food giant could have possibly predicted. The demand for the item has been so strong that it begs the question why McDonald's ever removed the item from the menu in the first place.

When the Snack Wrap hit the McDonald's menu on July 10, it was so popular amongst customers that it actually led to a brief lettuce shortage at some of the McDonald's restaurants throughout the country, forcing the company to make some quick adaptations in its supply chain.

“The launch of our Snack Wrap has been met with incredible excitement from our customers,” Tyler Gamble, a McDonald’s operator and chair of the National Supply Leadership Council, said in a statement earlier this month. “From day one, in the face of overwhelming success and traffic into our restaurants, I’ve seen all three legs of the stool—suppliers, employees and franchisees—work together quickly to plan and adapt.

“This close collaboration has enabled us to be nimble with our supply and keep up with that customer demand. What we’ve experienced was an awesome problem to have.”

Clearly, the product is an absolute hit with customers, which makes it all the more puzzling that it was ever removed from the menu nine years ago. However, there were some very valid reasons.

As Bloomberg reported at the time, a big reason why the Snack Wrap was removed from the menu was because it was "time consuming" and a "headache" for employees to put together in a McDonald’s kitchen. That became especially true as demand depleted.

McDonald’s initially marketed Snack Wraps as a healthier snack option compared to its heavier and greasier fast food options. However, that did not seem to appeal to customers as much in the middle of the 2010s as it does today. That was especially true amongst millennials, who was McDonald's target market at the time, as the Snack Wrap did not sell well to younger people back then.

Obviously, times have changed and consumers were ready for the Snack Wrap to return. Given the excitement, there's a chance it will stick around the menu a bit longer this time.