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Business Insider
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Summer's fast food wars hit their flow as McDonald's vs. Popeyes wrap battle heats up
There's a new fast food feud taking shape this summer, and the popular chains McDonald's and Popeyes are beefing (but not over beef). At the center of the wrap battle: crispy chicken. McDonald's on Thursday relaunched its popular Snack Wrap menu items, bringing its spicy and ranch-flavored crispy chicken offerings back after nearly a decade away. The Snack Wraps, which were phased out in 2016, have been brought back at the $2.99 price point. Corresponding with the McDonald's Snack Wrap relaunch, fried chicken chain Popeyes is running a promotion for its own chicken wrap this weekend. It's offering a free chicken wrap, usually priced starting at $3.99, with any purchase of $5 or more until July 13. Popeyes launched its wrap menu in June. Spokespeople for both fast food chains declined to comment on the competition between their chicken wrap offerings. It's not the first time fast food chains have clashed over similar offerings and new menu items. Popeyes made headlines in 2019 when it launched its fried chicken sandwich and with it, the "Chicken Sandwich Wars." The "Burger Wars" have been brewing for decades between chains like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King, with each chain bragging about the differences in its patty size, ingredients, and preparation methods. But this year, the battle appears to be on a smaller scale, in both portion size and price point. Both Popeyes and McDonald's wraps are positioned as menu offerings under $4, and most flavor variations contain fewer than 500 calories. A growing chicken snack trend Analysts told Business Insider that consumers' increasing snack habits and the rise of GLP-1s (not to mention consumers pulling back on discretionary spending amid rising inflation) may be driving the summer's chicken wrap trend. "According to our research, customers from all generational cohorts say that they are increasingly likely to replace traditional meals with snack items during the day," Vanessa Sink, the senior director of media relations for the National Restaurant Association, told Business Insider. "72% of millennials and 70% of Gen Z lead the way, but Gen X and baby boomers are also leaning toward snacking." Jim Sanderson, a managing director and research analyst at Northcoast Research, told BI he believes the low price point of these new menu offerings is likely an effort to drive returning traffic and increase the average check size as an "add-on" since the wraps' price "is lower than most burgers and sandwiches." Research published in May by McKinsey showed that 43% of consumers reported that their top concern these days is rising prices, followed by uncertain tariff policies (29%), outpacing anxiety over immigration and job security. And a full 60% of consumers had either changed or planned to change their spending habits in response to President Donald Trump's tariff announcements — even if the tariffs' full effects have yet to hit store shelves. Matthew Barry, Euromonitor International's Global Insight Manager of Food, Cooking and Meals, told Business Insider that chicken snacks in particular are having a moment, as consumers shift away from plant-based proteins and turn toward "natural" — i.e., animal-based — protein sources. "It's not like lamb's ever gonna get that big in the United States," Barry said. "So chicken really fits in this nice spot, where it's comprised of animal protein in kind of an affordable way." The Ozempic effect Sanderson said another element to consider in the chicken wrap wars is how weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s are shaping consumer behavior. While exact statistics on how these drugs are changing the market remain unclear, analysts have posited that the snack category could end up benefiting from wider GLP-1 usage. Given the increasing prevalence of the drugs, Sanderson said, "consumers may be more interested in smaller portions, which these wraps could fulfill." Barry told BI the rising use of GLP-1s likely has some impact on how consumers are choosing their snacks, but that is just one factor contributing to the broader "snackification" of the food industry, wherein more of our overall calorie intake comes from snacks. "A lot of things are kind of shrinking down and blurring the line between the meal and the snack, and the Snack Wraps are in that space," Barry said. "GLP-1s are part of that trend, too, but there's also a lot of other elements at play: smaller households, economization, experiential desire, and, you know, on-the-go lifestyles, all sorts of things." Putting it in TikTok terms, we're watching the continued rise of Girl Dinner — and McDonald's and Popeyes want to be part of it.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
McDonald's international markets prop up sales growth even as US lags
By Savyata Mishra (Reuters) - McDonald's global comparable sales posted a surprise rise in the fourth quarter on Monday, aided by demand for its affordable burgers and fries among diners in the Middle East, Japan and China. Shares of the burger chain rose as much as 3% in premarket trading, despite a bigger-than-expected drop in the U.S. comparable sales due to an outbreak in late October and cautious spending. Demand pressure on fast-food chains operating in the Middle East has slowly begun to ease after widespread informal boycotts of Western fast-food chains over their perceived pro-Israeli stance in the Gaza conflict. The surprise sales growth in the region for McDonald's offset some weakness in its largest market back home, where it reported the biggest drop of 1.4% since the COVID-19 pandemic. KFC parent Yum Brands had last week recorded positive sales growth in the Middle East. McDonald's and its rivals have leaned on value meals in 2024 to spur spending among customers preferring to eat meals at home. "Value is helping McDonald's recover traffic from lower income consumers, but that the expansion of value will pressure store profits which will make it difficult to drive stronger earnings longer term," Northcoast Research analyst Jim Sanderson said. McDonald's extended its $5 meal deal launched in June into December and introduced Chicken Big Mac in October, along with other special releases. Customer traffic in the U.S. improved slightly in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, the company said, but that was offset by a smaller average amount spent by customers per visit. Customer visits were also impacted by an outbreak in October, which forced McDonald's to temporarily suspend sales of its Quarter Pounder hamburgers in a fifth of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants for roughly two weeks. The company's global same-store sales rose 0.4% in the quarter ending December 31, compared with expectations of a 0.63% decline, according to data compiled by LSEG. This was driven by a 4.1% rise in McDonald's business segment where restaurants are operated by local partners, led by Middle East and Japan. Company executives said in a post-earnings call that demand was stabilizing in China. Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $2.83 was in line with market expectations. Sign in to access your portfolio
