Foodie snackers all over the nation mourned when McDonald’s discontinued the Snack Wrap in 2016. This savory, tortilla-wrapped delight was one of the most notable menu items that customers had loved and lost (and the Google search data backs it up!). While some individual franchises continued to offer the fan favorite, all U.S. locations removed the item from their menus by 2020 due to menu simplification and the COVID-19 pandemic.
But now, as Food & Wine reports, the long-lost Snack Wrap will be making a return to menus on July 10 – and this time it’s here to stay. “It’s back,” McDonald’s USA president Joe Erlinger succinctly confirmed in the company announcement.
Here are all the juicy details: The new and improved Snack Wrap features the recently launched McCrispy Strips along with shredded cheese and lettuce. It’s available in two flavors, Spicy and Ranch, and customers can order them individually or as part of a two-piece combo meal.
McDonald’s tease last December sparked a flurry of supportive comments on social media. This time around, McDonald’s is rolling out the digital red carpet with a website solely dedicated to next month’s release and those fan reactions. On the platform snackwrapfiles.com, McDonald’s is exploring every aspect of the viral menu item.
McDonald’s explains on its website, “We dropped snackwrapfiles.com to highlight the bond fans have with the Snack Wrap. We’re delivering engaging, iconic and never-before-seen content — continuously updated leading up to the official return of the Snack Wrap.”
This may all be thanks to a little peer pressure from Cajun-style competitor Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. The comfort food chain unveiled its own version of a tortilla-wrapped snack earlier this week, describing it as the “same legendary Louisiana flavor with a whole new twist.” While Popeyes’ version offers a spicier take on the portable meal, the similarities certainly aren’t lost on their marketing team.
“Glad we could make that happen,” the official Popeyes account teased on McDonald’s Instagram announcement, signing off the comment with a winking emoji.
While McDonald’s version is a clear fast food classic, it reflects a broader industry trend toward dippable chicken snacks. Earlier this year, Taco Bell reinvested in crispy chicken with its version of Crispy Chicken Nuggets. In the coming years, the Yum! Brands-owned company aims to concentrate its strategy on the wider crispy chicken category. Other brands, like Burger King, have attempted to introduce the Snack Wrap in recent years — but nothing quite compares to the original.
—
Photo Credit: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com