(NEXSTAR) – Despite supply issues, customers at McDonald’s are not likely to notice a lack of bags or straws at their local restaurants, the company says.
McDonald’s had warned franchise owners of a supply-chain issue affecting bags in late July, The Wall Street Journal reported. At the time, the company reportedly attributed the supply issue to increased customer demand for takeout bags during the pandemic, even for dine-in orders that would have previously been served on trays.
McDonald’s also told franchise owners that their bag orders from suppliers would need to be limited, and encouraged the use of trays for dine-in orders, according to internal communications cited by The Wall Street Journal. The company admitted, however, that a “transition” back to trays would be slow.
The message added that orders for straws, too, would need to be limited, citing a supply issue created by labor shortages and problems sourcing the resin needed for production.
In a recent statement, the restaurant chain said it was “confident” that diners would not be feeling the effects of any supply-chain hiccups.
“Despite temporary pressures in the industry, the impact to restaurants is minimal,” a representative for McDonald’s confirmed Tuesday in a statement provided to Nexstar. “Based on what we know today, we are confident customers should not see disruption to supply of bags or straws. We will continue to watch closely.”
Supply-chain issues with takeout packaging isn’t a specific problem for McDonald’s, either. As far back as the early months of the pandemic, manufacturers have been struggling to keep up with increased demand as more restaurants closed their indoor dining facilities and transitioned to takeout and delivery, according to a June 2020 report from Restaurant Business Online. Even in 2021, prices for food packaging — including everything from pizza boxes to egg cartons — had continued to spike thanks to tight supplies of the raw materials used to make the packaging, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.