McDonald’s (MCD) takes a different approach to its menu than other fast food restaurant chains such as Wendy’s (WEN), Burger King (RBI) , and YUM! Brands' (YUM) KFC and Taco Bell.
While not all of these are fast food burger chains, they all have something in common -- they will change up the menu a lot more frequently than McDonald’s.
KFC recently removed some fan favorites from the menu, citing it was working to streamline its menu for its kitchen staff. KFC eliminated its popcorn chicken among a few other time-consuming menu items, and it allegedly has helped drop delivery time of orders by 11 seconds.
Taco Bell took to social media recently to run a poll on which discontinued menu item to bring back to its menu. The company asked fans to vote on their favorite among the Beefy Crunch Burrito with Fritos Flamin' Hot Flavored Corn Chips or the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. The Beefy Crunch Burrito won the Taco Bell fan vote on social media.
McDonald’s has a regular rotation of menu additions, but it doesn’t usually replace permanent menu items to fit the other menu items back on the menu. McDonald’s brings back the McRib, the Shamrock Shake and the Pumpkin Spice Latte regularly or seasonally.
McDonald’s Shakes Up Its Menu
McDonald’s trolls its customers about bringing back its McSalad Shakers after almost a three-year hiatus. One of the healthiest menu items that was on the McDonald’s menu went away during 2020. The covid pandemic created supply chain issues and allowed the company to save money by not having to buy the lettuce for the salads, according to Eat This, Not That. It’s a given that most people go to McDonald’s for the quick service, burgers, fries and soft drinks, so losing the McSalad Shakers wasn’t considered a huge loss at the time. Many businesses, including restaurants, were paring down products and services to deal with pandemic problems.
McDonald's sent a quirky post on Twitter that its grandma told it to bring back the McSalad Shakers. The McSalad Shakers had three versions, the Chef Shaker, Grilled Chicken Caesar Shaker and the Garden Shaker. The Chef Shaker was a green salad mix, with julienne ham and turkey, with a blend of cheddar and jack cheeses, egg, tomato, and onion. The Grilled Chicken Caesar was a green salad mix, grilled chicken and parmesan cheese. The Garden Shaker was a green salad mix with a mix of cheddar and jack cheeses, egg, tomato, and onion.
The McSalad Shaker was introduced as a way to solve a couple problems for the fast-food salad. It came in a hand cup, that with a lid allowed customers to shake the salad dressing all over the salad itself, getting a more even coverage of dressing per salad. The shaker would fit in a cup holder, making it a more convenient way to eat healthy on the go.
McDonald's Social Media Tease
Is McDonald's Twitter making a play for attention through teasing its customer base about returns of discontinued menu items or is it announcing the return of the McSalad Shaker. No press release has been issued by the fast-food chain on the return of the McSalad Shaker.
McDonald’s in Nov. 2022 tweeted “its easier to order snack wraps than it is to get these tickets.”
The tweet worked, as it got fans buzzing about the McDonald’s Snack Wrap, but it was in no way an announcement about the return of the fan favorite item. It was just a play on the fiasco with Ticketmaster selling Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets to getting some McDonald’s social media attention when all anyone could talk about was the major failure with Ticketmaster.
