Wendy's Continues History Of Jabs At McDonald's With New Chicken Wrap

Wendy's doesn't mind having some fun at the expense of its competition, especially if that competition happens to be McDonald's. Back in 2018, for example, Wendy's aired a Super Bowl commercial mocking McDonald's use of "flash frozen" beef, comparing it unfavorably to the Titanic. The burger chain doubled back a few months later on social media to roast McDonald's for its use of frozen beef.

Two years later, Wendy's once again went after the Golden Arches, this time spending big (reportedly as much as $80 million dollars) on a promotional campaign in an attempt to lure breakfast consumers away from McDonald's. The campaign seemed to work, at least based on a subsequent headline from CNN Business, which claimed that "Wendy's is eating McDonald's breakfast."

Now Wendy's is at it again. But this time, Wendy's isn't just mocking McDonald's, it's doing so with a new menu item that is unmistakably similar to one McDonald's once sold. That would be the Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap, which according to a recent press release from Wendy's, is one of the new items being added to its menus this spring.

In its press release this week, Wendy's announced three new items that would be appearing on its menus: Blueberry Pomegranate Lemonade, Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad, and a Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap. In regards to the latter, Wendy's noted that the tortilla-wrapped blend of chicken, cheese, lettuce, and ranch sauce is "the only chicken wrap worth obsessing over." Since McDonald's famously began offering Snack Wraps with tortilla-wrapped chicken, cheese, and lettuce back in 2006, this definitely seems like a shot.

Of course, there's little reason to speculate. Not after Wendy's spokesperson, Carl Loredo told CNN Business that the chain wasn't trying to copy McDonald's Snack Wrap because it "didn't want to mess around with a McBland snack wrap dupe." McDonald's chicken-based Snack Wrap, to be fair, hasn't been sold since 2020, at least not in the U.S.

If this seems like another instance of Wendy's trying to lure customers away from McDonald's, in this case using a popular menu item its competition no longer offers, that's probably because it is. Wendy's Grilled Chicken Wrap and its other new spring menu items debut on March 28.