McDonald’s is looking to further ramp up its chicken business through more offerings.
CEO Chris Kempczinski indicated Monday during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that McDonald’s was very bullish about its chicken portfolio and shared some offerings in the pipeline.
“This year, there is incredible energy for the return of Snack Wraps in the U.S. along with a few other markets,” he told analysts and investors.
McDonald’s has plans to introduce a “new chicken strip offering” in the U.S. too, according to Kempczinksi.
The fast-food giant revealed late last year that it would add the Snack Wrap back to its menus. It has been about eight years since McDonald’s offered the fan-favorite in the U.S.
“This has a cult following,” McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger told “Good Morning America” in December. “I get so many emails into my inbox about this product. It will be back in 2025.”
When asked on the earnings call about timing and details for the snack wraps and chicken strips, Kempczinski was tight-lipped.
“We do have, I think, some very exciting food news, food innovation coming in the U.S., but my U.S. team would kill me if I gave any more details about the when and the exact specifics of how we’re going to plan on doing that, but certainly expect that to come online later in the year,” he said.
Kempczinski also said the fast-food giant will “continue to pulse in the Chicken Big Mac as a limited-time-only offering over time.”
McDonald’s offered the Chicken Big Mac – a sandwich made with two chicken patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese and pickles between two buns – at U.S. restaurants for a limited time in October. Restaurants in other countries have sold it in the past as well.
The Chicken Big Mac “helped generate chicken market-share growth in France and the U.S. with positive incrementality” last year, according to the McDonald’s CEO.
McDonald’s is also bringing the McCrispy to more and more markets. That menu item crossed the threshold to become one of the fast-food giant’s billion-dollar brands in 2023, FOX Business previously reported.
Restaurants in over 70 markets currently sell the McCrispy, with McDonald’s planning to make it available in “nearly all markets” by the end of the year, Kempczinski said.
“We’re excited about the significant opportunity we see within our chicken portfolio and see the potential to add another point of chicken market share by the end of 2026,” he told analysts and investors.
McDonald’s generated nearly $6.39 billion in total revenue in the fourth quarter. Its quarterly net income, meanwhile, came in at almost $2.02 billion.
For the full year, the fast-food giant’s revenues were $25.92 billion, and its net income was $8.22 billion.
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