McDonald's is bringing back Szechuan sauce, and it's the latest example of its brilliant COVID era menu strategy

• McDonald's will offer Szechuan sauce again for a limited time starting March 31.
• Customers showed a huge demand for the sauce last time it was available in 2017 and 2018.

McDonald's just announced that it will bring its Szechuan sauce back for a limited time beginning March 31.

The dipping sauce, which famously appeared in an episode of "Rick and Morty" and drew in crowds of fans last time it was available in 2017 and 2018, is McDonald's latest way to update menus without adding additional complexity for workers. The basic menu items, like McNuggets and Quarter Pounders, won't change, so workers won't have to learn any new processes. They just have to include sauce packets if requested, and customers can purchase a limited number a la carte.

McDonald's has used this strategy before. In January, the fast-food giant announced "menu hacks" that combined already-existing menu items.

Adding these hacks to menus was "really smart," Mark Kalinowski, CEO and founder of Kalinowski Equity Research, told Insider at the time. All the components were already on menus, so there were no added costs or complexity for workers. McDonald's even asked customers to assemble the menu hacks themselves, eliminating any need to train workers on new dishes.

"McDonald's has iconic menu offerings, why not create something a little playful?" Kalinowski previously told Insider. Like with the menu hacks, the chain can harness some of the excitement and attention of adding new menu items without actually introducing new dishes and the expenses those would include.

McDonald's has shown that keeping menu complexity down is key to its strategy recently. In 2020, like many competitors, the chain cut some low-selling menu items and eliminated all-day breakfast. The smaller menu was intended to "simplify operations in our kitchens and for our crew," McDonald's told Business Insider at the time. Adding back in Szechuan sauce doesn't recreate any of that complexity in the kitchen.

The Szechuan sauce will be available exclusively through the McDonald's app, where customers can purchase up to five a la carte containers, the chain said in a statement. It has been a huge draw in the past, leading to petitions, online bidding wars, and even customer riots over low stock.

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