Why We Missed the McRib

On December 3rd, the McDonald’s McRib returned.

The Family Guy displays what many of us might feel. For a big smile, do take a look:

Briefly available in selected spots around the U.S. during November 2024, McRib sightings were reported by its fans. Then, it disappeared.

Now it is returning to many of the 13,544 (as of June 2024) McDonald’s in the country. Based on the McRib locator, it appears to be almost everywhere (but just barely in Montana):

Where are we going? To diminishing marginal utility.

Some History and a Recipe

The history of the McRib takes us back at least 40 years. In 1980 or so, the creator of the chicken nugget realized pork also had some possibilities. Using restructured meat technology, he eviscerated the unappealing parts of the pig. Oversimplifying, we can just say that adding some salt and water glue, they wound up with a pork slab that became the McRib. Yes, Americans don’t want stewed pig hearts. But they will eat a more palatable version.

McDonald’s describes the McRib as “shamelessly delicious…with seasoned boneless pork slathered in smoky, tangy barbecue sauce, topped with slivered onions and tart pickles.” A decade ago, Stephen Colbert commented that eating it can count as exercise because one of its ingredients is in yoga mats (azodicarbonamide).

Looking through a more positive lens, Thrillist said it was like a comet. You never know when or where it will return, “but you hope it’s near you.”

Why? An economist has the answer.

Our Bottom Line: Diminishing Marginal Utility

In the past, telling us the McRib would not return, McDonald’s arranged its Farewell Tour. Creating some smiles, they posted a mock protest petition from the “Boneless Pig Farmers Association of America.”

And sure enough, the McRib returned.

You can see below that McDonald’s entices us with the McRib’s limited run (It’s my arrow):

McDonald’s removes the McRib from the menu because of how we perceive that extra bite. One McDonald’s franchisee tells us that when it first returns, he sells close to 200 a day. However, by the end of the promotion, anticipation plummets and his daily McRib sales drop to fewer than 50.

An economist would say that McRib eaters are experiencing diminishing marginal utility because each new serving gives them less extra pleasure. Recognizing how unlimited availability could bring marginal utility down to zero and even into negative territory, McDonald’s soon removes the McRib.

Freakonomics’s Steven Dubner explained that McDonald’s resuscitates the McRib after waiting long enough for him to forget how bad it is.

And finally, as economists, thinking of demand determinants that shift our curve, McDonald’s has a new complementary product. They suggest that we use their half gallon jug of “A Whole Lotta McRib Sauce” as a stocking stuffer. However, they warn us to act quickly because the supply is limited:

My sources and more: In today’s update of a 2020 econlife, we went back to the McRib Locator and discovered more (rather fascinating) McDonald’s location facts. Then, also from a past post, I used the tale of its creation and the less appealing facts from the Atlantic.