The McRib returns for the holidays. Why isn’t it sold all year round?

CNN
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The McRib is returning to menus this holiday season, but don’t get used to it.

McDonald’s announced Wednesday that its famous boneless pork patty sandwich will be available again starting December 3. But as always, this will only be for a limited time.

And the same goes for another favorite fast food item, Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries, which despite its popularity has also not gained a permanent place on the menu.

Instead, limited offerings like the McRib or the Nacho Fries disappear and reappear with no apparent pattern. Experts say this is true.

In addition to increasing profits, highly anticipated seasonal products like the McRib create excitement among fans and opportunities for businesses to play with promotions.

On the other hand, a strategically timed rollout could also serve to generate positive news about the brand after periods of bad press.

“This is the playbook for a lot of (quick service restaurants). Bringing back old favorites like the McRib is one of the tools they are using to drive interest and demand,” said Michael Della Penna, chief strategy officer at marketing and measurement platform InMarket. “People get excited about a visit. It makes people nostalgic as they remember the product and want to try it again.”

Basic economics of supply and demand will tell you that much of the McRib’s popularity comes from its scarcity.

“Scarcity adds tension, excitement and anticipation,” says Stephen Zagor, an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia Business School who specializes in restaurants and food companies. He says that if McDonald’s offered the McRib as a permanent menu item, “it would be like Christmas every day, and we would be bored of it.”

Nearly 30% of quick service restaurant customers consider the availability of special promotions or offers when choosing between restaurants, according to research from PYMNTS.com, a financial services company.

Starbucks, for example, saw average foot traffic for all locations increase by 26% a few days after the arrival of their limited-edition holiday drinks in 2022, according to location analytics firm GroundTruth.

David Henkes, a senior director at food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, said building customer expectations for the short time an item is available is far more profitable than keeping it permanently on the menu and offering weak year-round see sales. .

“If it was something that was on the menu year-round, I think it would be one of those items that would probably be at the bottom of McDonald’s menu items,” he said.

Plus, history hasn’t always been kind to the sandwich. The McRib flopped when it debuted in Kansas City in 1981 and was taken off the menu just four years later. But it has since become a favorite among McDonald’s loyalists.

Unlike other limited-time products such as McDonald’s own Pumpkin Spice Latte and the Shamrock Shake, the McRib is not tied to a specific season or holiday and does not have a permanent place on the consumption calendar.

Essentially, consumers don’t know when it will appear next – and that element of surprise also drives demand.

“It creates a sense of urgency that you have to get it now because you don’t know when it will come back. You don’t know if it will come back,” Henkes said. “While you know about the Pumpkin Spice Latte that it comes back every fall.”

In addition, Henkes says McDonald’s decision to keep the McRib as a limited-time offering is part of a broader trend of companies focusing on their primary products and cutting back on their overall offerings to boost profits.

Starbucks, for example, this month dropped their “Oleato” drink offering as part of the chain’s broader plans to simplify a menu that CEO Brian Niccol called “overly complex.”

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that the McRib has a cult following. It has spawned dozens of Facebook groups, a Reddit forum and even a website dedicated to tracking down sightings of the elusive sandwich around the world.

It’s so popular that McDonald’s website said, “Why isn’t the McRib sold all year round?” as a frequently asked question. (“We want to change our menu throughout the year by offering some limited-time items.”)

Zagor said McDonald’s staples — hamburgers, fries and the like — have all become commodities. The McRib exists to shake up a familiar lineup.

“To stimulate their fan base, they create products that become legendary. The McRib is one of them. It has become a legend in its own time,” he said.

McDonald’s has previously based entire campaigns around the McRib. When it was released in 2022, the company introduced a line of McRib-themed merchandise as part of the sandwich’s “farewell tour.” (Spoiler: the McRib returned the following year.) This year, the McRib’s comeback includes the launch of a half-liter jug ​​of McRib sauce for fans to purchase.

Henkes added that it’s also part of McDonald’s strategy to generate good press about itself after visits to locations dropped following an E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens of people. He described the marketing ploy as a reset that will allow McDonald’s to start with a clean slate of customers.

“Releasing one of these fan-favorite items puts a more positive spin on what the public sees and hears from McDonald’s,” he said.