Wendy’s New Chicken Wrap Is A Direct Assault On McDonald’s Snack Wraps

Since McDonald’s refuses to bring back the Snack Wrap in the United States, Wendy’s decided they’d do it for them. That’s right—as of this week, Wendy’s will be selling a Grilled Chicken Ranch Wrap, which according to the menu contains a tortilla filled with diced herb-marinated grilled chicken, shredded cheese, romaine lettuce, and a creamy ranch sauce. The rollout comes after testing the wrap in select locations in Ohio. Testing must have gone well; the wrap is now rolling out in locations nationwide. And, Wendy’s press release declares that the new wrap will be “the only chicken wrap worth obsessing over.” Take that, Mickey D’s! Here’s what we know about the release:

READ MORE: Leaked Memo Reveals The Fan-Favorite Items That Are Leaving Wendy’s Menu In 2023

Wendy's New Chicken Wrap Set To Fill The Void Left By McDonald's Snack Wrap

Regarding the latest menu addition, John Li, Vice President of Culinary Innovation for The Wendy's Company, said, "It's no secret that at Wendy's, we know ranch." He continued, "There are many who've tried to master the grilled chicken wrap, but we're not snacking (pun intended) around with our offering. From our classic creamy ranch sauce to the warm wrap folded perfectly for people on the move, our team built a wrap that's worthy of the entrée menu." Wendy's wants to patch that hole in your heart left by its rival's Snack Wrap.

Carl Loredo, Wendy's Global Chief Marketing Officer, told CNN that they didn't want to create "a McBland snack wrap dupe.” Where McDonald's retired wraps contained crispy chicken, Wendy's is switching it up with grilled chicken. The reasoning? Loredo said Wendy’s fans are looking for “lighter and more portable menu items.”

Reactions To Wendy's New Chicken Wrap

Reactions to the new chicken wrap have been mixed. After all, while customers are vying for the return of the Snack Wrap, chicken wraps are nothing new to a market saturated with chicken sandwiches. Here's what people are saying:

"I was very excited when I heard Wendy’s was giving the dish a shot. Because if we’re being honest, Wendy’s is better than McDonald’s in just about every way," wrote Jeremy Scheinder for NJ.com. "I ate the whole thing and wasn’t mad at it. But I wouldn’t compare it to the Snack Wrap, which was simply better constructed and gave customers a choice of delectable sauces like sweet chili, ranch, honey mustard, and BBQ."

Brittany Cristiano from Narcity agreed, writing, "there is no comparison to McDonald's old snack size with that crispy breaded chicken and its ranch sauce. I thought Wendy's wrap was absolutely nothing special at all, and does not deserve the hype it is getting." Yikes, tough crowd!

Still, many fans are excited about the wrap and are happy to have a new contender on the market. On Twitter, one user wrote, "The new @Wendys Chicken wrap is soooo good. McDonald's didn’t wanna bring it back so Wendy’s said bet."

Another user wrote, "the chicken wrap was so good," but agreed that they would like to see "a crispy version soon" like McDonald's offered.

Why Did McDonald's Get Rid Of Snack Wraps Anyway?

It's a question fans have asked for years since the beloved wraps were officially discontinued in the United States in 2016 (Canada and the United Kingdom still sell variations). As previously reported by The Street, McDonald’s Snack Wraps were discontinued "because they did not sell well enough to justify the time they took to make them.”

A year ago, McDonald's tweeted "bring back ____" asking customers to fill in the blanks. In the replies, customers overwhelmingly responded with Snack Wraps, to the point where it became a running joke on the McDonald's Twitter account. They even tweeted, "it's easier to order snack wraps than it is to get these tickets," when the Ticketmaster public ticket sale for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour was canceled over extreme demand.

Well, despite rumors, the Golden Arches still haven't brought back the sought-after wraps, and Wendy's has beaten them to it. Based on McDonald's history, Wendy's might have to battle difficult wrap assembly and poor selling, but for now, they're attempting anyways.