2023 Fast food

One of the most popular toys of the year is coming to McDonald’s, believe it or not.

On their way to selling 30 million units in this last quarter of 2023, Squishmallows are the Cabbage Patch Kids of this generation of youngsters and they will be available as a "free" toy inside McDonald's Happy Meals, beginning December 26, and while supplies last.

“Iconic Squishmallow characters — like Cam and Fifi — will be a part of the lineup, as well as everyone’s favorite McDonaldland character and purple bestie — Grimace!” according to the fast food chain.

“And that’s not all — there’s a surprise mystery character that select fans may uncover when they open their Happy Meal toy.”

Parents should bring along their earplugs because each character comes with a unique playlist based on its personality. All families have to do to access each Squishmallow’s playlist is scan the QR code on the Happy Meal box.

Menu choices

Parents will have three choices of Happy Meals to choose from, all priced somewhere between $4.29 and $4.98, but could be cheaper if ordered on McD’s app.

• Hamburger Happy Meal: a basic hamburger with a side of fries, apple slices, and a choice of drink

• 4-Piece McNugget Happy Meal: 4-piece nuggets plus fries, apple slices, and a choice of drink

• 6-Piece McNugget Happy Meal: 6-piece nuggets plus sides of fries, apple slices, and choice of drink

Parents should also be prepared to drive to different McDonald’s locations in neighboring towns if Squishmania gets out of hand. That’s because there are 24 iconic Squishmallows plush toys altogether, but only 10-12 designs per each participating market. So, if your kid has their heart on collecting them all, keep your car gassed up because you might be going on a Squish hunt.

Remember when the food industry’s crystal ball was seeing little but chicken, burgers, and coffee in McDonald’s future?

The original fast food potentate has made another move in that direction, sending blueberry muffins, apple fritters, and cinnamon rolls – the three remaining McCafe Bakery items – to menu heaven.

“We’re always listening to our fans and adjusting our menu based on what they crave,” McDonald’s said in a statement to the press. “We know goodbyes are never easy – but fans can still satisfy their sweet tooth with our iconic chocolate chip cookies, baked apple pie and frozen desserts at restaurants nationwide.”

As you can imagine, sweet tooth consumers aren’t taking this news very well.

“McDonald's has gone way too far on discontinuing the cinnamon roll. This is McDonald's worse decision in years,” ClimiStormWX tweeted their McSadness “McDonald's, keep the Cinnamon Roll on the menu, if you get rid of it, there will be chaos.”

McKreme’y?

What does this mean for those who swarmed Mcdonald's after the company started selling Krispy Kreme donuts a few months ago? No official word yet, but there’s speculation that Krispy Kreme may stay on the menu.

RestaurantDive’s Aneurin Canham-Clyne thinks that the discontinued McCafé bakery items could be replaced with a broader offering of Krispy Kreme pastries – one that could be an all-day plus for McDonald’s menu, not to mention a bonus for Krispy Kreme.

In a recent earnings call, the donut company’s global president and COO Josh Charlesworth said his chain has yet to see any adverse impact on existing sales at its doughnut shops. Krispy Kreme CEO Michael Tattersfield told analysts that “We really like the partnership with McDonald’s as it stands today.” 

You’re not supposed to mess with success, but McDonald’s thinks it’s got a better way of making its burgers.

There’ll still be “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun” on its Big Mac, but the company is shaking that formula up a bit for a reset of that sandwich -- in fact, its entire classic four-burger lineup.

The company said in announcing the change that its chefs have been quietly tweaking the sandwiches to make them “tastier” – at least in its mind. The improvements to the Big Mac sandwich, McDouble burger and McD’s classic Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger and Hamburger are, in the company’s own words…

• “Softer, pillowy buns that are freshly toasted to a golden brown 

• Perfectly melted cheese that will make you want to savor every last bit off the wrapper  

• Juicier, caramelized flavor from adding white onions to the patties while they’re still on the grill  

• Even more of everyone’s favorite Big Mac sauce, bringing more tangy sweetness in every Big Mac bite”

“I’ll always remember my first burger from McDonald’s. And now my culinary team and I have the best job in the world: thinking about ways to bring even more of that iconic McDonald’s taste to fans,” said chef Chad Schafer, senior director of Culinary Innovation, McDonald’s USA. 

“We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever.”

McDonald’s has modified things over the years like changing out the oils it uses and taking antibiotics out of its chicken, but this is the first time it’s made a major change to its burgers since 2018 when it moved from frozen to fresh beef.

The West Coast gets to try them first

The fast food chain did all of its burger experimenting out of the U.S., perhaps to save face in case fans on its home turf didn’t take a liking to the changes. The company said it tested the new recipes in Australia, Canada, and Belgium and got “rave reviews.” 

Americans will be introduced to the new recipes in waves. McDonald’s has already started rolling them out in several cities on the West Coast – Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Boise, Tucson, and surrounding cities – and by the time 2024 gets here, everyone in the U.S. will have had a chance to try the new versions of the burgers out.    

Don’t say we didn’t tell you. McDonald’s is making good on its promise to get serious about chicken.

The company just announced that it’s bringing out the “McCrispy” chicken sandwich. Serious enough that it’s trademarked the name, too.

“This crispy, juicy, tender sandwich is a special kind of delicious—with our crispy chicken filet made with all-white meat, crinkle-cut pickles and buttered potato roll—did we mention it comes in Deluxe and Spicy too?” is the company’s pitch. 

When ConsumerAffairs searched for its availability, we found that it’s already available in some U.S. markets with plans to go nationwide on March 13. 

The regular version is priced at $4.59 with the spicy version a dime more at $4.69. The deluxe version with lettuce, Roma tomatoes, and mayo is $4.99.

If you want to make your McCrispy a meal, those prices go up to $8.38, $8.48 and $8.88, respectively. The only caveat we found on the McDonald’s app is that the sandwiches are not available after midnight.

“Crispy’ish” things may well be around for a while for McDonald’s fans. ConsumerAffairs also noticed a feature upgrade for McD’s crispy products on its app.

It was pushing Crispy Chicken McMuffins, Crispy Chicken McGriddles, and Crispy Chicken Biscuits, as well, and NRN reports that a Bacon Ranch McCrispy is on the schedule too, but will only be available for a limited time.

The Colonel's attempting to raise the roof on his hen house, too

As things go in the fast food industry, there’s a lot of copycatting. If chicken is your thing, who knows how far this one-upmanship will go, but McDonald’s chicken competition isn’t taking this skirmish sitting down.

After a decade, KFC recently announced the return of its KFC Double Down Sandwich – but it’s a get it before it’s gone thing, only lasting until the first week of April.

Another limited engagement at KFC is the “premium” Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich – a double-breaded, extra crispy, 100% white meat filet, a slice of cheese, two pieces of hickory-smoked bacon, mayo and pickles at participating restaurants for a limited time.

Popeye’s is focusing on Lent right now, and giving its all to new seafood items. But once Easter is over, it’s possible it may reenter the game with a new chicken sandwich to compete with the others.

McDonald’s had no sooner put a bun on its plot to overthrow its chicken-driven competition than Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) responded. The Colonel’s counter offensive is a one-two punch of wraps available immediately nationwide – one directed at younger diners who can bolster some demographic growth for the chain. 

And the younger crowd is important to the company. In an interview, KFC Chief Marketing Officer Nick Chavez noted that the new wraps are an integral piece of the company’s wide-ranging strategy to expand its customer base. Just a year ago, it partnered with young American rapper Jack Harlow to kickstart its foray into that segment. 

While McDonald’s latest chicken push doesn’t include a wrap, it’s not like its fans didn’t try. During covid, some McDonald’s chicken wrap fans took to Change.org to try and coax the company to bring back the item which has been mothballed since 2016. However, the effort probably didn’t move the needle enough to get company brass to sit up and take notice – only 16,955 signed the petition in two years. 

Get it while it’s hot – and cheap!

To celebrate their release, those looking for a meal on the go or a deal can enjoy two KFC wraps for just $5. The company’s announcement didn’t say how long the new items will be available, other than to say for a “limited time.”

Trying to find a twist that gives it some uniqueness over McDonald’s, Popeye’s, and Chick-fil-A, but doesn’t put it crossways against its Yum! Brands sister Taco Bell, KFC’s new wraps come with two options.

One is a Classic Chicken Wrap – a hand-breaded Extra Crispy Tender, crunchy pickles and creamy mayo, wrapped up in a warm tortilla – and the other is a Spicy Slaw Chicken Wrap which embodies an Extra Crispy Tender in a flavorful mix of KFC coleslaw, spicy sauce and crispy pickles.