Spicy Chicken McNuggets are back on the menu.
McDonald’s announced earlier this week that the popular menu item is making a return for a limited time starting on Feb. 1, USA Today reported.
The spicy nuggets debuted last September and marked McDonald’s first new McNugget flavor since 1983. The chain made the move in part to compete with other fast-food chains that had been promoting spicy chicken at the time, the Deseret News previously reported.
The announcement comes about a week after McDonald’s announced its Throwback Thursday deal that gives customers popular items on the menu for 35 cents or less (on Jan. 28, McDonald’s is offering its small shakes for a quarter), according to the Deseret News.
In the U.S., McDonald’s promotions has led to same-store sales jumping 5.5% in the latest quarter, CNBC reported Thursday. Compared to the restaurant industry at large, McDonald’s and other fast-food chains have bounced back amid the pandemic more quickly.
Internationally, though, McDonald’s recovery from the pandemic is significantly slower — same-store sales fell 7.4%, according to CNBC. Renewed COVID-19 restrictions around the world have put a dent in McDonald’s global sales and profit, the Wall Street Journal reported. There are also fewer McDonald’s outside the U.S. that have drive-throughs — something fast-food chains in the U.S. have highly benefited from during the pandemic.
“What we’re seeing right now is that concern for economic uncertainty is, by far, the single ... biggest concern that exists with our consumers,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement, according to CNN. “We think affordability is going to be one of the things that all of us need to stay focused on in a prudent way in 2021.
Looking ahead, McDonald’s will add three new chicken sandwiches to its menu next month, the Deseret News reported.