The Two Countries That Serve McDonald's McRib Year-Round

The return of the McRib is generally met with great fanfare, as is tradition for the beloved seasonal sandwich. Since the sandwich was first introduced during the '80s, the McRib has become a cult classic, resulting in hungry customers lining up to get a taste of it year after year. The huge following the sandwich has amassed has led to the McRib becoming one of the most interesting items on the McDonald's menu.

It may seem counterintuitive to make the McRib so limited given how popular it is. However, according to McDonald's representatives, this is actually done on purpose and is a calculated business strategy. The reason is simple: By making the McRib more scarce, it will make the chain more money when the product eventually makes a return to the menu.

Despite the McRib's reputation as a seasonal item, there are actually a couple of places in the world that serve the McRib year-round. Specifically, it can be found all year in Germany and Luxembourg only. This is great news for European McDonald's customers, but unfortunate for the rest of the world, especially since the McRib's return can sometimes take years.

Although the McRib is well known for its scarcity now, this wasn't always the case. One of the lesser-known facts about the McRib is that it wasn't always a seasonal item. It was only in 2019 that it started having limited runs, typically during autumn.

In fact, the McRib was originally a failure and was removed from the menu in 1985. However, it came back in 1989 only to be removed once again in 2005. It would pop up every now and then on menus inconsistently for years, but fans of the McRib demanded for the item to return with so much fervor that the chain eventually felt it was a necessity to bring it back regularly on at least a seasonal basis.

It wasn't originally planned for Germany and Luxembourg to be the exception to the McRib's limited availability. Much like the McRib's seasonal return to McDonald's locations around the world, the sandwich was made permanent in Germany and Luxembourg for one reason: customer demand. The sandwich simply became so popular in these specific countries that McDonald's made an exception.