In a tweet published Monday, McDonald’s Venezuela announced French fries were finally back. The product had been removed from the fast-food chain’s menu in January due to a shortage of the product in the country and the impossibility to import the tuber given the state’s limited reserves. Before the shortage, all of the potatoes used in McDonald’s stores came from Argentina, Canada and the United States, a company spokesperson said.
Llega a McDonald´s un nuevo sabor hecho aquí que te encantará. pic.twitter.com/oWkUWFK8zr
— McDonald's Venezuela (@McDonalds_VE) November 2, 2015
The tweet assures that French fries now sold in McDonald’s restaurants are 100 percent made in Venezuela. “A new flavor made here [in Venezuela] that you will love is arriving to McDonald’s,” the social media post stated.
Creativity Is Key
In the 10 months without fries, the company had to come up with creative substitutes, a practice Venezuelans have become accustomed to. Resorting to locally available products, Venezuelan McDonald’s stores were offering fried yucca, arepas and salads in place of fried potatoes.
Several local media outlets have reported people were pretty excited with the comeback, but were not as happy with the price. Moreover, the company’s spokesperson noted, the new fries do not taste the same as the original ones, but have been instead branded as a "new flavor, specially made in Venezuela."
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.
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