Fans were so eager to get their hands on the McDonald’s chicken Snack Wrap, which was returned to the menu this month after being retired in 2016, they briefly caused a lettuce shortage for the chain.
In a communication about a week ago to U.S. franchisees, the Golden Arches told locations impacted by the shortage to hold off on adding shredded lettuce to other items such as McChicken sandwiches to preserve the supply, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The company said the dip in supplies was only temporary, driven by an exceptional response to the July 10 return of the popular menu item.
“We’ve been blown away by the response, from packed restaurants with lines out the door to nonstop social buzz,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told NBC News, adding that customers showed up in “full force.”
Over the years, fans continued to press McDonald’s to bring back the Snack Wrap, launching a petition with over 18,000 signatures, and barraging company inboxes with messages.
In the run-up to the Snack Wrap re-release, the company even published a WikiLeaks-style trove of Snack Wrap emails called the Snack Wrap Files.
“Please, I am begging you,” one March email to the company reads, along with the subject line “BRING BACK THE SNACKWRAP.”
“What will it take to bring back the Snack Wrap?” the messenger added.
Lettuce issues aside, the spike in interest in the $2.99 wrap was good news for McDonald’s, which suffered a 3.6 percent year-over-year drop in sales last quarter, its worst since the early days of the pandemic.
The company has faced particular issues with low and middle income diners pulling back spending amid increased food prices in the wider economy.
Internally, the company has also reportedly warned that foreign locations may be impacted by an increase in anti-American sentiment, in what may be a reflection of shifting consumer attitudes as the U.S. has pursued a confrontational strategy of tariffs against major trading partners under the Trump administration.
McDonald’s also faced calls for a consumer boycott last month from the activist group People’s Union USA, which accused the chain of price gouging, unfair labor practices, and avoiding taxes.
“This is about more than burgers and fries, this is about power,” The People’s Union USA said in a statement on Instagram at the time. “When we unite and hit corporations in their wallets, they listen.”
