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

CNN
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The McRib returns to the menu 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 Dec. 3. But as always, it will only be available for a limited time.

And the same goes for another popular Taco Bell fast food item, Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries, which, despite its popularity, also hasn’t secured a permanent spot on the menu.

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

Beyond increasing profits, highly anticipated seasonal products like the McRib create excitement among fans and an opportunity for businesses mess around 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 use to drive interest and demand,” said Michael Della Penna, chief strategy officer at marketing and measurement platform InMarket. “It gets people excited to visit. It makes people feel nostalgic as they remember the product and want to try it again.”

Basic supply and demand economics will tell you that a large part of the McRib’s popularity is due to its scarcity.

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

According to a study by PYMNTS.com, a financial services company, nearly 30% of quick-service restaurant customers consider the availability of promotions or offers when choosing a restaurant.

For example, just days after launching its 2022 limited-edition holiday drinks, Starbucks saw an average increase of 26% in foot traffic across all locations, according to location analytics firm GroundTruth.

David Henkes, senior director at food industry research and consulting firm Technomic, said it is much more profitable to build customer anticipation around the short window of time an item is available than to leave it on the menu permanently We recorded weak sales throughout the year.

“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 the McDonald’s menu,” he said.

Plus, history hasn’t always been so kind to the sandwich. The McRib was a flop when it debuted in Kansas City in 1981 and was removed from the menu just four years later. But since then it has become a favorite among McDonald’s fans.

Unlike other limited-time products like McDonald’s Pumpkin Spice Latte and Shamrock Shake, the McRib is not tied to a specific season or holiday and has no fixed place on the consumption calendar.

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

“There’s a sense of urgency that you have to get it now because you don’t know when it’s coming back. “You don’t know if it will come back,” Henkes said. “Whereas with the pumpkin spice latte, you know it’s coming back every fall.”

Additionally, Henkes says McDonald’s decision to keep the McRib as a limited-time offering is part of a broader trend in which companies are focusing on their core products and trimming their overall offerings to increase profits.

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

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the McRib has a cult following. Dozens of Facebook groups, a Reddit forum and even a website dedicated to tracking down sightings of the elusive sandwich around the world have sprung up.

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

Zagor said McDonald’s standard products – burgers, fries and the like – have all become commoditized. The McRib exists to shake up a familiar lineup.

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

McDonald’s has already organized entire campaigns around the McRib. When Following its 2022 release, the company released a line of McRib merchandise as part of the sandwich’s “farewell tour.” (Spoiler: The McRib came back the next year.) This year, the McRib’s comeback includes the introduction of a 1/2-gallon jug of McRib sauce that fans can purchase.

Henkes added that it was also part of McDonald’s strategy to generate good press about itself after visits to locations fell following an E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens of people. He described the marketing ploy as a reboot that allows McDonald’s to start over with 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.