Lack of salads at McDonald’s is troubling but likely temporary

Where art thou, McSalad?

McDonald’s “quietly” dropped salads from its menu in April 2020, and leafy greens have yet to make a reappearance in the months since then.

Is this a glancing blow to the fresh produce industry, or a knockout punch from the biggest force in fast food?

McDonald’s added salads to menus across the U.S.in 1987. After more than 30 years on the menu, the chain dropped salads during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McDonald’s said in a statement to Business Insider in December that the chain cut menu items in April “in an effort to simplify operations while improving customer experience.”

I sent an e-mail inquiry to McDonald’s about the future of its salads but as of June 17 received no comment, and the fast-food chain has declined to comment to other media outlets on whether salads would return to menus.

In the archives of The Packer, the first mention of “salads” and McDonald’s came in December 1983, when McDonald’s was test-marketing a variety of salad products in 14 states with an eye on introducing perishable offerings throughout its franchise system.

In 1992, The Packer reported that industry leaders estimated McDonald’s purchased 2% of the total U.S. lettuce crop at the time.
In 2007, when The Packer reported on McDonald’s introduction of its Southwest salad, the chain said that it had sold 520 million salads “to date.”

Salads gave the fast-food chain “veto-proof” status for group meals by a healthier option for vegetarians and health-minded consumers.
I asked the LinkedIn Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group how concerned the industry should be about the cold shoulder from

McDonald’s regarding salads, and what the industry strategy should be to increase menu offerings of produce.

Here are a few excerpts from their responses:

• “Broadline distributors can get it done with a little incentive and motivation by the sales force. Major accounts would be a good focus. Independent distributors and produce distributors can also push as they are close to the operators. The key is getting ‘fresh’ back on the menu!”

• “I keep hoping to see Public Service Announcements on the benefits of produce for healthy bodies to boost immunity and recovery support from COVID and illness.”

• “Many foodservice operators pulled items off their menu during the pandemic beyond salads or produce items. When making a decision, the foodservice operator would have identified standalone ingredients or lower-moving SKUs that could be removed from the menu to streamline product offerings without disrupting customer expectations.  The industry can look to mitigate these removals and bring produce back to foodservice by partnering with operators on items that will have multiple applications. In order to remain competitive, all parties need to be aligned that gone are the days where a restaurant could carry an ingredient for one item. Redundancy and duplicity of ingredients will be key in the produce industry growing within foodservice again.”

• “I believe suppliers/growers/shippers should upgrade their quality control inspection tools and traceability efforts in order to reinstate trust in the foodservice industry, by showing them they have mechanisms in place to take care of any recalls in minutes!”

In my view, I think salads will come back to McDonald’s this year. The conservative move, as some have pointed out, is to bring the salads back, to give the chain some ability to burnish its faltering health image. 

The revolutionary move for the corporation would be to forever abandon salads in favor of McFlurrys. 

We all were guilty of making less-than-ideal dietary decisions during the pandemic. At some point, that has to change. Bring back the McSalads!