McDonald’s US president Joe Erlinger hinted this week that a sandwich with cult status is making a comeback.
The McRib – seasoned, boneless pork dipped in spicy BBQ sauce and topped with chopped onions and pickles – returns to America later this year.
The sandwich, which has been taken off and then added back to the menu dozens of times over the years, is a divisive issue among fast food fans: some love it, while others hate it.
But McDonald’s knows the McRib brings customers into restaurants and drive-thrus.
The return will be the latest weapon, along with this summer’s $5 meal deal, in the battle to win back customers in 2024.
The McRib sandwich will return in 2024. It was first sold in 1982
“By temporarily reintroducing the McRib, we can boost interest and customer numbers at McDonald’s at a time when performance is declining,” retail expert Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, told DailyMail.com.
But he explained why McDonald’s is only selling it for a limited time, rather than making it permanent on the menu.
“Normally the improvement is only temporary, so the chain still has work to do on areas such as pricing if it wants to guarantee better performance,” he added.
McRib will be back later in 2024
McRib, once described as “the fast food sandwich that went viral before viral concepts existed,” debuted in the United States in 1982.
It was discontinued in 1985 after low sales, but then returned in 1989 and was widely available in the US and other countries until 2005.
It was then reintroduced periodically until it disappeared again in 2012 for eight years. It didn’t return until December 2020, when it came back for a limited time.
At the time, it was an effort to lure customers back after the pandemic left dining rooms sparsely populated or closed.
The McRib is an elusive prize for fans, who scour the internet for reports of the animal appearing in a limited number of places for a short time.
There’s even a website called McRib Locator, which was created to increase awareness of McDonald’s restaurants that offer McRib.
In the past, McRib has been praised for attracting customers and boosting the chain’s sales.
For example, a ‘farewell tour’ for the cult favorite in November 2022 resulted in double-digit sales growth.
Bosses said this would be the last time the McRib was sold. But he also came back in November 2023.
This week, President Joe Erlinger said, “It’s coming later this year. The McRib is coming back.”
He was doing it interviewed on Today to promote the new $5 value meal. At the end of the main chat with the hosts, weatherman Al Roker jokingly asked about the McRib – and then Erlinger gave the update.
It’s not impossible to get a McRib whenever you want, but you have to travel for it. Germany has had it on the menu all year round for some time now. It returned to Canada in January this year.
It’s the latest fan favorite item to return. In April we reported how McDonald’s put bagels back on the breakfast menu.
Fans rejoiced when the McRib returned for the first time in eight years in 2020
McDonald’s is bringing back breakfast bagels in four varieties, including the sausage variety pictured here
Facebook groups have sprung up calling for the return of bagels at McDonald’s
Bagel fans post memes about McDonald’s bagels
Bagels aren’t yet available everywhere in the country, but they are in at least 1,200 restaurants. They could be back in all 14,300 U.S. locations later this year.
Bagels were first introduced at McDonald’s in late 2019, but were cut shortly afterwards when bosses simplified the menu in spring 2020 amid the pandemic.
Since then, fans on Twitter, Reddit and Facebook have been calling for them to return.
They’re so popular that a 13,000-member Facebook group has been created called Where’s my McDonald’s Bagel?