McDonald's Is Letting Every Other Chain Steal Its Best Idea

No, the McDonald's Snack Wrap is not back on the menu... yet? For years, fans of the long discontinued menu item have begged, pleaded, and remained hopeful as McDonald's has yet to make any official announcement on whether its Snack Wraps might return to U.S. locations. In the meantime, however, virtually every McDonald's competitor has lured those nostalgic customers with their own version of the fast food chicken wrap.

The McDonald's Snack Wrap made its U.S. debut in 2006 and consisted of a piece of crispy or grilled chicken plus lettuce, cheese, and either ranch or honey mustard dressing, all wrapped in a flour tortilla. Part of the appeal of the Snack Wrap was its price, which was between $1-$2; McDonald's discontinued it in 2016. (The small-format menu offering was the precursor to a larger format wrap called the McWrap, which was also later discontinued.)

Back in December 2023, while discussing development plans for the business, the chain's leadership alluded to the possibility of the Snack Wrap's return, once again dangling that bit of hope in front of the public. Unfortunately, there's been no real sign of a comeback for the wraps since that announcement, even though McDonald's franchisees want the item back as much as its fans do, believing that a value item could help drive business. And as McDonald's stalls out on reintroducing Snack Wraps, its competition is capitalizing on the delay by releasing chicken wraps left and right.

Burger King launched three BK Royal Crispy Wraps back in August 2023, and the trio of flavors didn't differ much from the original makeup of McDonald's Snack Wrap. The main differences between Burger King's wraps and the McDonald's Snack Wraps are that the BK offerings do not include shredded cheese, do have tomato, and only come in a fried chicken variety (not grilled). The BK Royal Crispy Wraps come in either honey mustard, classic (with Royal Sauce), or spicy.

Similarly, KFC has released a lineup of wraps multiple times over the past few years. The lineup has included Honey BBQ, Spicy Mac & Cheese, Mac & Cheese, Classic, and Spicy Slaw. These chicken wraps have many differences from the classic Snack Wrap at McDonald's, but the base is still present: a fried chicken strip wrapped in a warm flour tortilla accompanied by various sauces and toppings. The KFC wraps have made only limited-time appearances on the menu, but to the chain's credit, that's still more comebacks than McDonald's Snack Wraps have ever made.

Sonic is also currently capitalizing on McDonald's slow trigger finger by offering Crispy Tender Wraps for a limited time. The wraps come in either Hickory BBQ or Cheesy Baja flavors and sell for $1.99 each—an even lower price point than the other recent releases from other brands. Both of Sonic's wraps contain a crispy chicken tender, shredded cheddar cheese, and shredded lettuce inside a flour tortilla.

For Snack Wrap fans who miss having a grilled option, Wendy's offers a wrap that is similar to McDonald's former offering. Wendy's Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap contains grilled chicken breast, shredded cheddar cheese, romaine lettuce, and a creamy ranch sauce wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

At this point, McDonald's isn't just disappointing an extremely loyal fan base, it's also allowing its competitors to cash in. By the time the brand does decide to bring back Snack Wraps, the market might already feel oversaturated. Plus, the longer McDonald's delays this comeback the more pressure there will be to recapture the same satisfaction the Snack Wraps gave years ago while other brands have had plenty of time to tinker and perfect their versions. It's time to wrap this thing up already, McDonald's.