Whatever Happened To McDonald's McStuffins?
The year 1993 brought us an iconic entry to the long list of discontinued McDonald's items: the McStuffin. Hot on the heels of the breakout success of Hot Pockets — which came out in 1983, according to the product's website — and other gooey delights such as the Costco chicken bake, McDonald's saw an opportunity to capitalize on America's love for bread stuffed with cheese and various fillings.
A 1993 article from AP News describes the McStuffin as "baked french bread sandwiches with sauce and a choice of flavorings including teriyaki chicken, barbecued beef, pepperoni pizza, and cheesesteak" sold for just $2. Plus, complete with time-lapse shots of fluffy bread baking, classic cheese pulls, and steamy close-ups of melty pepperoni filling, McDonalds' commercial about McStuffins, available on YouTube, seemed poised to rocket the item into the ranks of McDonald's bestsellers. The ad even went so far as to call the McStuffin "the best thing since sliced bread."
The McStuffin didn't last long but is still remembered today
While the McStuffin may sound like a great idea on paper, given the incredible success of similar grab-and-go sandwich products, the 1993 McDonald's menu addition wasn't so well received. As Insider reports, the fast food giant discontinued the item the same year it debuted — and it probably should have seen this coming. According to writer Nick Davies on Medium, McDonald's had market-tested the McStuffin in select locations, where it tanked. Nevertheless, the chain decided to launch the product despite its rocky reception. Considering its far deviation from McDonalds' regular fare of burgers and fries, the McStuffin sort of seemed like a McMisfit from the start.
Nearly 30 years later, people still remember the McStuffin; there's even a YouTube video about recreating the stuffed sandwich at home. Give it a watch if you happen to have a hankering for a French baguette stuffed with teriyaki chicken while watching "Full House" reruns.