Burger King gave McDonald's fans something they have long been begging for when it introduced its BK Royal Crispy Wrap line in August. The chain's take on its rival's defunct (at least in the United States) snack offering was basically a chicken finger in a tortilla with various toppings.
McDonald's (MCD) -) dropped the line when sales of the Snack Wrap did not justify the added kitchen effort required to make them. The chain's franchise owners complained that the Snack Wraps slowed down their operations and were not profitable enough to justify the added effort.
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McDonald's eventually gave in to its franchises, and despite the Snack Wraps being heavily requested by the chain's social media followers, they have not returned in the U.S. That does not mean Snack Wraps have disappeared entirely. You can still get them in Canada and in a number of other countries around the world where McDonald's has more control over its restaurants.
The BK Royal Crispy Wraps are a pretty direct knockoff of McDonald's former offering. Burger King, however, has also added a new "Snack Box" line to its menu, but, as is the case for McDonald's Snack Wraps, you can only find the Home of the Whoppers' new Snack Boxes in Canada.
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Burger King leans into snacks
The point of offering a wrap is to give people a lighter option when it's not mealtime. In theory, having snack-like offerings will help chains drive traffic at times when they're not busy in the afternoon and, perhaps, late night.
Burger King is adding to that concept by bringing three new $5 Snack Boxes to its menus in Canada. Those boxes also contain onion rings, a product offering McDonald's does not sell. Canadify shared what goes into each Burger King Snack Box.
- The Chicken Fries Snack Box includes four Chicken Fries paired with french fries, onion rings, and your choice of one dipping sauce, all boxed together to make the perfect snack.
- The Chicken Nuggets Snack Box consists of four chicken nuggets paired with french fries, onion rings, and your choice of one dipping sauce.
- The Mozzarella Sticks Snack Box features a snack box filled with four mozzarella sticks, french fries, onion rings, and your choice of one dipping sauce
All of the items are served together in a single box. Increasing its snack options makes sense for the Restaurant Brands International (QSR) -) brand because Burger King does not have an equivalent to McDonald's McCafe coffee line, which theoretically helps keep the chain busier in non-meal hours.
McDonald's has its own snack ideas
McDonald's has not brought back Snack Wraps in the U.S., but it has been experimenting with building out its snack line by partnering with Krispy Kreme (DNUT) -) in select markets. The chain has not commented as to whether that program will expand. The doughnut company, however, has acknowledged that it will need to expand its manufacturing capacity in order to work with the burger chain nationally.
"What we've really started to look at as a channel is what's the opportunity in that channel within our existing footprint and how could that work and then really push on from that,' Krispy Kreme CEO Mike Tattersfield said during his chain's second-quarter earnings call.
Krispy Kreme also sells doughnuts in many convenience stores. It has been building out what the company calls hubs to serve these partners. It would need to expand greatly to serve McDonald's nationwide.
McDonald's has not commented on the success level of the Krispy Kreme partnership. It has, however, discontinued some of the pastries from its McCafe nationwide.
