OAK BROOK Ill. As mini-burgers pop up on a variety of quick-service menus, McDonald's is putting its own spin on the trend with tests of the Snack Wrap Mac, a downsized version of its signature Big Mac served in a warm flour tortilla instead of a sesame seed bun.
Reports indicate that McDonald's is testing the new item at all of its 1,400 locations in Canada as well as in the Houston market. The company would not provide details on the test markets.
This introduction marries two trends in quick service that have driven many of the segment’s new food offerings: portable, tortilla-wrapped snacks and miniature burgers. McDonald’s rolled out its line of Snack Wraps, made with fried or grilled chicken, in 2006. Several competitors followed suit with similar wrapped snacks, including Wendy’s, KFC and Dairy Queen, among others. More recently, mini-burgers have become a popular menu addition at fast-food chains. Burger King recently introduced BK Burger Shots, miniature burgers sold in packs of two or six, and Jack in the Box said it would soon roll out Mini Sirloin Burgers.
“The Snack Wrap line has been extremely successful for McDonald’s, and the Big Mac is still one of our most successful sandwiches,” Danya Proud, a McDonald's Corp. spokeswoman, told Nation's Restaurant News. “This test is a great way to combine the attributes of our flagship sandwich into a portable, convenient snack-size entree.”
Proud said the price of the Snack Wrap Mac is in line with the chain's other Snack Wraps, but that final pricing has not yet been determined. The Houston Chronicle reported that the new item was being sold there for $1.49.
Proud offered no details about how long the Snack Wrap Mac would be tested, but a McDonald’s Canada spokesman told the Chicago Tribune that the product test would run through May 18 in Canada.
McDonald’s has been one of the restaurant industry’s strongest performers in this recession. The company recently reported a global same-store sales increase of 1.4 percent for the month of February, which reflected a negative calendar shift from February 2008, which had one extra day. Excluding the calendar shift, global same-store sales would have increased 5.4 percent for month.
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s operates or franchises approximately 32,000 restaurants in 100 countries.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected]
