McDonald's encourages diners to use trays amid food bags shortage: WSJ

McDonald's Corp. encourages restaurant operators to serve meals on trays to customers who dine indoors due to a bag scarcity.

The food chain recently notified restaurant owners that they needed to limit bag purchases from suppliers since consumption is outpacing already high levels from last year, according to internal communication, WSJ reported.

According to the NPD Group, a consumer research organization, over 81 percent of restaurant operations in the 12 months ending June 30 were takeaway orders, an increase of 18 percent from the same time the previous year.

Many customers are requesting their Big Macs, McNuggets, and fries in bags even when dining inside, which is contributing to the shortage, the chain said.

Workers who spent months packaging all orders to go during the pandemic aren't used to serving meals on trays, which adds to the pressure, according to the firm.

“Many new crew members have never had to deal with trays before,” the company said in the late July message. The “transition to using trays has been slower, more difficult because we haven’t done it in so long,” WSJ quoted.

According to the firm, the limited supply of bags has had very little impact on its eateries. McDonald's has also informed franchisees that the company will reduce its procurement of straws owing to supplier constraints caused by workforce cuts and limited resin supplies.

Restaurant sales have recovered from the pandemic's depths, but operations at even the largest chains, such as McDonald's, are far from normal. Supply-chain challenges persist, labor is limited, and costs continue to rise. McDonald's said its U.S. restaurant pricing is up approximately 6% from the same period last year as it deals with labor and food cost challenges.