For the first time since 2015, McGriddles made a comeback in Singapore. When McDonald’s removed the burger from its range, the company did not give any reasons for doing so or a timeline for its reintroduction.

To some, this may even seem illogical: why would you remove an obviously popular dish from the menu? Doesn’t the company want to make more money?

We’ll explore three good reasons why McDonald’s regularly introduces (and then removes) menu items, even when they prove popular.

# 1 Potentially higher costs

First, let’s compare a McGriddle and a McMuffin. Although they are similar in shape and size, it’s safe to assume that a McGriddle costs more to make than a McMuffin.

The reason for the higher price is the two pancake plates soaked in maple syrup, which are significantly different from the regular breakfast sandwiches at McDonald’s.

The $0.50 price difference may seem insignificant when comparing the two burgers, but on a national level, the difference becomes significantly larger. The economies of scale are not as great at McGriddles because the regular buns are also used in Sausage McMuffins, Big Breakfast, and many others.

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# 2 Higher profit margins

As a company, McDonald’s is focused on maximizing profits. It stands to reason that McDonald’s will make higher profits if popular burgers like McGriddles are regularly released (and taken off the market) than if they are permanently on the menu.

Creating scarcity is a well-known sales tactic, and limited-time offers create a sense of urgency. The result is long lines over several months, potentially generating the same amount of revenue the company could make in a year if the product was permanently on the menu and taken for granted. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a powerful emotion that can be exploited.

An a la carte Sausage Egg McGriddle costs $5.40, while a meal with a drink and hashbrowns costs $6. That’s about a 12% increase in price, since a McGriddles meal used to cost just $5.35. People also tend to be less price sensitive when it comes to limited-time offers.

This strategy of regularly releasing popular products at high prices makes sense as they are popular and loved by the public. The McGriddles join an illustrious list of popular burgers such as the Nasi Lemak Burger, the Samurai Burger and the Prosperity Burger.

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# 3 Menu and workflow simplification

It’s also easy to imagine that McDonald’s is slimming down its menu because the company wants to keep it simple. What may not be so intuitive are the reasons behind the decision to simplify the menu.

The story continues

Slower preparation process

A menu that is too complicated leads to inefficiencies in the preparation process.

Let’s take the preparation of McGriddles as an example. Unlike other burgers, a McGriddle consists of two fluffy pancakes soaked in maple syrup. The pancakes also feature a large “M” representing the McDonald’s logo, something we don’t see on other buns. These additional features require additional processes, equipment and labor, which slows down the preparation process in the kitchen.

When orders take a long time to prepare, it can cause big problems. According to QSR Magazine’s 2016 Drive-Thru Study, the average wait time in McDonald’s drive-thru is 208.16 seconds. Ten years ago, the average wait time was 167.1 seconds, almost 25% faster. A large menu will only increase the overload.

As you may recall, the Quarter Pounder quietly disappeared from McDonald’s Singapore menu last year. Perhaps this also contributes to the inefficiency, as it does not have the same patty as the Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger, McDouble and Big Mac, the burgers that are the mainstays of the menu.

Faster turnaround times mean they can serve more customers in the same amount of time, and McDonald’s knows this.

The paradox of choice

More choice is a good thing – but is it always the case? Behavioral studies have shown that too many options exhaust us because we end up having to weigh up too many potential outcomes and risks.

Customers who are presented with a wide range of products often end up being dissatisfied with their final choice, as people tend to make poor decisions after exhausting their mental capacity, which is a limited resource. When customers regret their purchasing decision at McDonald’s, they unconsciously visit the fast food chain less often. This is something McDonald’s wants to prevent.

If you are interested in this topic, you can read the book The paradox of choice, The book was written by American psychologist Barry Schwartz. As the name suggests, the book is about how the ever-increasing number of decisions we are exposed to on a daily basis does not help us, but actually paralyzes us and creates a paradox.

Less is more. By offering customers a limited selection of menu items at any given time, McDonalds makes it easier for them to make food decisions.

Watch: How easy is it to eat healthy in Singapore? DollarsAndSense tried it

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