McDonald’s is in the process of making its McFlurry more sustainable. The company announced in a blog that its current McFlurry spoon, which doubles as a spindle to help employees mix toppings into the soft serve ice cream before serving, will transition into a smaller, black spoon that uses less plastic. Restaurants will be equipped with a reusable spindle that’s swapped out and cleaned after each McFlurry order is prepared, according to the company. The new McFlurry spoon is the same one that comes with McDonald’s sundaes. The company notes the transition will reduce single-use plastic waste in restaurants without compromising the McFlurry product.
The McFlurry was invented in 1995 and first introduced at the chain in 1997, according to McDonald’s Wiki. The original flavors were Oreo, Heath, Nestle Crunch, M&M’s and Butterfinger, and the company has since leveraged the popular item to rollout buzzy LTOs, like the Stroopwafel McFlurry or the Strawberry Shortcake McFlurry.
The product’s shift to a more sustainable spoon is part of the company’s broader efforts to transition to more sustainable packaging and toy materials. One of its focus areas is the elimination of “unnecessary packaging.”
“Our strategy is to use fewer materials and to optimize our packaging. We’ll accelerate our progress to reduce materials across our portfolio, redesigning some of our most iconic products to eliminate unnecessary packaging and increase opportunities for recovery,” the company notes on its blog.
By the end of 2022, McDonald’s was about 81% of the way toward its goal of sourcing 100% of its primary guest packaging from renewable, recycled or certified materials.
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