McDonald's Explores Canadian Flavors and Adds McLobster to the Menu

While Americans fight for the opportunity to taste the McRib, Canadians are feasting on McLobster -- at least for a few weeks.

On Wednesday, McDonald's is adding a lobster roll to the menu for a limited time in Canada. And, yes, the company is emphatic that the McLobster is made with 100 percent, real Atlantic lobster. The limited-time offering is part of McDonald's Canada's “Great Canadian Taste Adventure,” a campaign promoting national pride with Canadian-inspired and sourced menu items.

As part of the campaign, McDonald's is serving up four other menu items, including the Quebec-inspired Maple and Bacon Poutine and the Chocolate Nanaimo Sundae, which utilizes the flavors of a classic Canadian chocolate treat originating in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Each menu item represents a different region of Canada, sourcing ingredients from the area that provided the inspiration. None of the items will be on the menu for more than a few weeks in June.

While the Great Canadian Taste Adventure is localized to Canada, it looks like the McLobster is getting a wider roll out. The roll, which has periodically made appearances on McDonald's menus in parts of Canada for years, also is being served for a limited time in Italy. One Twitter user, who claims to be a McDonald's insider, says the roll will soon be popping up on menus in Boston as well.

The Canada-centric campaign provides an example of how the company's recent push toward localizing menus and ingredients may play out in the coming months. As the chain attempts to shake its reputation as a purveyor of low-quality foods, executives have promised simplified recipes that utilize local ingredients and appeal to the tastes of smaller, regional markets. Most American McDonald's may not be serving up the McLobster any time soon, but that doesn’t mean that your local McDonald's won't also have some interesting menu developments in the near future.