Summer's fast food wars hit their flow as McDonald's vs. Popeyes wrap battle heats up

• McDonald's has brought back its popular Chicken Snack Wrap after nearly a decade.
• Popeyes is simultaneously promoting its chicken wrap, ramping up competition between the chains.
• Analysts told BI that Gen Z's snack habits and the rise of GLP-1s could be driving the trend.

There's a new fast food feud taking shape this summer, and the popular chains McDonald's and Popeyes are beefing (but not over beef). At the center of the wrap battle: crispy chicken.

McDonald's on Thursday relaunched its popular Snack Wrap menu items, bringing its spicy and ranch-flavored crispy chicken offerings back after nearly a decade away. The Snack Wraps, which were phased out in 2016, have been brought back at the $2.99 price point.

Corresponding with the McDonald's Snack Wrap relaunch, fried chicken chain Popeyes is running a promotion for its own chicken wrap this weekend. It's offering a free chicken wrap, usually priced starting at $3.99, with any purchase of $5 or more until July 13. Popeyes launched its wrap menu in June.

Spokespeople for both fast food chains declined to comment on the competition between their chicken wrap offerings.

It's not the first time fast food chains have clashed over similar offerings and new menu items. Popeyes made headlines in 2019 when it launched its fried chicken sandwich and with it, the "Chicken Sandwich Wars." The "Burger Wars" have been brewing for decades between chains like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King, with each chain bragging about the differences in its patty size, ingredients, and preparation methods.

But this year, the battle appears to be on a smaller scale, in both portion size and price point. Both Popeyes and McDonald's wraps are positioned as menu offerings under $4, and most flavor variations contain fewer than 500 calories.

A growing chicken snack trend

Analysts told Business Insider that consumers' increasing snack habits and the rise of GLP-1s (not to mention consumers pulling back on discretionary spending amid rising inflation) may be driving the summer's chicken wrap trend.

"According to our research, customers from all generational cohorts say that they are increasingly likely to replace traditional meals with snack items during the day," Vanessa Sink, the senior director of media relations for the National Restaurant Association, told Business Insider. "72% of millennials and 70% of Gen Z lead the way, but Gen X and baby boomers are also leaning toward snacking."

Jim Sanderson, a managing director and research analyst at Northcoast Research, told BI he believes the low price point of these new menu offerings is likely an effort to drive returning traffic and increase the average check size as an "add-on" since the wraps' price "is lower than most burgers and sandwiches."

Research published in May by McKinsey showed that 43% of consumers reported that their top concern these days is rising prices, followed by uncertain tariff policies (29%), outpacing anxiety over immigration and job security. And a full 60% of consumers had either changed or planned to change their spending habits in response to President Donald Trump's tariff announcements — even if the tariffs' full effects have yet to hit store shelves.

Matthew Barry, Euromonitor International's Global Insight Manager of Food, Cooking and Meals, told Business Insider that chicken snacks in particular are having a moment, as consumers shift away from plant-based proteins and turn toward "natural" — i.e., animal-based — protein sources.

"It's not like lamb's ever gonna get that big in the United States," Barry said. "So chicken really fits in this nice spot, where it's comprised of animal protein in kind of an affordable way."

The Ozempic effect

Sanderson said another element to consider in the chicken wrap wars is how weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s are shaping consumer behavior.

While exact statistics on how these drugs are changing the market remain unclear, analysts have posited that the snack category could end up benefiting from wider GLP-1 usage. Given the increasing prevalence of the drugs, Sanderson said, "consumers may be more interested in smaller portions, which these wraps could fulfill."

Barry told BI the rising use of GLP-1s likely has some impact on how consumers are choosing their snacks, but that is just one factor contributing to the broader "snackification" of the food industry, wherein more of our overall calorie intake comes from snacks.

"A lot of things are kind of shrinking down and blurring the line between the meal and the snack, and the Snack Wraps are in that space," Barry said. "GLP-1s are part of that trend, too, but there's also a lot of other elements at play: smaller households, economization, experiential desire, and, you know, on-the-go lifestyles, all sorts of things."

Putting it in TikTok terms, we're watching the continued rise of Girl Dinner — and McDonald's and Popeyes want to be part of it.