How McDonald's Was Able To Afford Selling A Lobster Roll

When you go to McDonald's it's usually because you're craving burgers, chicken nuggets, and French fries. But over the years, the fast food chain has introduced many different menu items including McPizza, Fish McBites, and onion nuggets. Though a number of these items didn't stand the test of time, they still were fairly on-brand. Therefore, it might come as a surprise that McDonald's sold lobster rolls on and off for several years.

A lobster roll may be one of the most affordable ways to consume lobster meat, but it still isn't cheap. A single lobster roll cost around $30 in 2022. The McLobster Roll however was only $3.99 when it first came out, and $9 at its highest. The explanation for how McDonald's was able to afford the price cut actually applies to another McDonald's menu item: the McRib. Since rib meat is pricy, McDonald's uses pork trimmings that are simply shaped into rib-shaped patties. This allows McDonald's to sell "ribs" for around the same price point as its other menu items. With the McLobster Roll, meat substitution was also involved.

Given that McDonald's is a fast food chain, it wouldn't be too shocking if the lobster meat in the McLobster Roll was imitation lobster. But according to the ingredients list under the menu item, which still remains on the McDonald's website, the meat really was 100% lobster, and it was sourced from U.S. and Canadian waters, just like it was advertised. The catch was that instead of being made with lobster tail like a traditional lobster roll, McDonald's used cheaper meat from the claw, knuckle, and leg of the lobster, more commonly known as C.K.L. meat. Using the C.K.L. and buying it in volume is precisely what allowed McDonald's to give it an affordable price point.

Customers with a less refined palate might not have noticed too much of a difference, but some picked up on more fishiness than normal, and report the texture being more mushy than meaty. Aside from the cheaper meat, the McLobster Roll was assembled the same way as any other lobster roll, complete with salted butter, lettuce, and mayo.

Other McDonald's limited-time offerings, such as the Shamrock Shake and the McRib, are typically available everywhere in the U.S., but that wasn't the case with the McLobster Roll. It initially launched in 1992 at McDonald's restaurants in the Atlantic Canada region, and a year later McDonald's brought it to the U.S. While it was eventually sold more broadly, a 1993 commercial states that it was only available at participating locations.

In 2005, when it was brought back, the McLobster Roll was advertised as being exclusive to New Englanders. It didn't return until a decade later in the summer of 2015, but was still only available in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The subsequent summer, McDonald's made the sandwich available in additional locations across the U.S. and in 2017 Hawaii was also included in the lineup. 2017 however also ended up being the final year McDonald's had lobster rolls, prompting fans to wonder whether the sandwich will ever make another return.