News
Why McDonald’s Killed This Menu Item
McDonalds (MCD) has already invested a lot of marketing money in its salads. But since 2020, greens have been off the menu. That’s because the chain has concluded that when people go to McDonald’s, they mainly want a burger and fries.
“If people really want McDonald’s salads, we’re happy to relaunch the salads,” said Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, in a June interview at the Wall Street Journal’s annual Global Food Forum. “But what our experience has proven is that this is not what the consumer expects from McDonald’s,” he added.
“They’re looking for great fries, they’re looking for a $5 Meal Dealthey’re looking for a fresh, hot sandwich. And that’s what we’re going to continue to provide them.”
Serving a healthy meal — or one that’s suitable for vegetarians, vegans or kids — can help fast-food chains avoid what’s known as a “veto vote,” which involves a group or family skipping a restaurant that doesn’t have options for picky eaters or those with dietary restrictions. For McDonald’s, putting salads on the menu was likely a way to avoid the veto vote and stay up to date with the latest trends in healthy eating.
McDonald’s had been serving salads for decades before the pandemic. The salads allowed some to eat at the chain while watching their diets (as a diet blogger observed“salads were the only halfway healthy item I could eat at McDonald’s.”) For others, it may have been more of a way to feel like they were eating healthyeven if they weren’t.
But in 2018, salads became more of a problem than an attraction. That year, hundreds of people fell ill with an intestinal disease caused by consuming contaminated food or water. McDonald’s salads were “a likely source of these infections,” the CDC said at the time. During the outbreak, the network stopped selling its salads in 3,000 restaurants as a precautionary measure.
A salad from a McDonald’s restaurant. (Photo by Steve Parsons – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images) (Steve Parsons – PA Images via Getty Images)
And then, two years later, Covid hit and restaurants faced labor shortages and disrupted supply chains. have pared down their menus to focus on their most popular items. McDonald’s removed salads from its national menus in 2020 to help streamline restaurant operations, the company said. In 2022, the chain gave its franchise operators the option to serve pre-prepared salads, but many chose not to, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The strategy paid off. Sales soared when the chain came up with ways to upgrade and market your core items. And now, the chain is focusing its efforts on convincing customers to choose your $5 meal dealinstead of than a competitorwhile the salad was left behind.
Another menu item that won’t be coming to McDonald’s any time soon? A plant-based burger, which McDonald’s tested a few years ago.
The story continues
“I don’t think the American consumer is … looking for McPlant or other plant-based proteins from McDonald’s right now,” Erlinger said at the June conference, but added that “it’s a trend we’ll continue to monitor.”
For more CNN news and updates, create an account at CNN.com