Mac n' Cheetos facts for kids
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Three orders of Mac n' Cheetos
|
|
| Nutritional value per 5 pieces (115 g) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 310 kcal (1,300 kJ) |
|
37 g
|
|
| Sugars | 9 g |
| Dietary fiber | 2 g |
|
13 g
|
|
| Saturated | 4.5 g |
| Trans | 0 g |
|
Protein
|
9 g
|
| Vitamins | Quantity
%DV†
|
| Vitamin A | 0 IU |
| Vitamin C |
0%
0 mg |
| Minerals | Quantity
%DV†
|
| Calcium |
0%
0 mg |
| Iron |
0%
0 mg |
| Sodium |
47%
710 mg |
| Other constituents | Quantity |
| Energy from fat | 120 kcal (500 kJ) |
| Cholesterol | 15 mg |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults. Source: Burger King |
|
Mac n' Cheetos are a deep-fried macaroni and cheese product based on the Frito-Lay snack Cheetos. Mac n' Cheetos were introduced in late June 2016 and sold at Burger King in limited supplies. The original product contained five pieces and was served with a side of ranch dressing. Today, Mac n' Cheetos are available frozen at grocery stores around the United States.
Many publications have pointed out that Mac n' Cheetos is part of a larger trend of blending fast foods with well-known snack foods, as well as reflecting the current state of fast food alliances.
Contents
Product description
Mac n' Cheetos are fried macaroni and cheese bites shaped and coated to resemble Cheetos brand cheese curls. The fried shell of a curl is crunchy, and is flavored and colored like Cheetos. Burger King president Alex Macedo described the food item as a "triple threat", because it combines Burger King, Cheetos, and macaroni and cheese.
Mac n' Cheetos is a portmanteau of mac n' cheese and Cheetos.
Currently, there are two known varieties of Mac n' Cheetos: "Creamy Cheddar", and "Flamin' Hot".
History
Fried macaroni and cheese had existed prior to the introduction of Mac n' Cheetos. The Cheesecake Factory and Wayback Burgers have sold similar products in the past.
Other fast food restaurants like Taco Bell have previously employed a similar strategy. In 2012, Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum! Brands, introduced the Doritos Locos Taco, whose taco shell is composed of the Doritos chip. Offshoots followed as Cool Ranch, Nacho Cheese, and Fiery Doritos. Consumerist's Laura Northrup compared them to 7-Eleven's Doritos Loaded and Hostess Brands's deep-fried Twinkies sold at participating Walmart locations.
In 2015, Burger King entered into a partnership with PepsiCo's Frito-Lay, which also owns the Doritos and Ruffles brands.
On June 22, 2016, Burger King announced that they would begin selling the product the next week. The product was test-marketed at Burger King restaurants during a product trial in Southern California. Mac n' Cheetos were introduced nationwide on June 27, 2016. In an interview, Burger King president Alex Macedo said, "We’re partnering up with one of Americans’ favorite brands. It's quite unique."
Later, Burger King offered Cheeto Chicken Fries, based on their BK Chicken Fries.
Mac n' Cheetos, including other Burger King products like the recently introduced Oscar Mayer hot dogs, reflects the fast-food alliances restaurants have with other companies. While PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay's Cheetos, the American restaurants sell Coca-Cola beverages. Despite this recent product, Macedo remarked, "It’s not a plan for us to migrate to Pepsi. Our relationship with Coke is as good as it is with PepsiCo." However, Macedo has also said, "We’re working on a few other menu items. There’s room for us to do more together in the future."
Mac n' Cheetos have also been sold at U.S. convenience store/gas station Sheetz stores in North Carolina and Ohio.
On May 18, 2017, Burger King returned the Mac n' Cheetos to its menu for a limited time. Frito-Lay also introduced a "Flamin' Hot Mac n' Cheetos" based on a spicier variant of Cheetos.
In response to fan interest following the popularity of the Burger King limited time releases, Frito-Lay released frozen Mac n' Cheetos in grocery stores.
Price
Mac n' Cheetos contains five pieces and was originally priced in Burger King at about $2.50 In New York City, the total cost including New York state sales tax is $3.26. USA Today's Ted Berg was critical of the price choice, as he thought it would be 99¢ at Taco Bell.
When the food item was brought back in October 2016 at Sheetz, it was priced at $2.99. Sheetz offers it available for pickup via the Sheetz Apps menu. However, it costs $3.49 in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
In May 2017, the Mac n' Cheetos was priced $2.69 at Burger King.
Advertising
Burger King called its product a "dangerously cheesy re-imagination". In May 2017, a press release described them as "cheesiest, most amplified version of mac n’ cheese imaginable."
In June 2016, a commercial featuring Chester Cheetah unboxing the Mac n' Cheetos debuted.
In May 2017, David Miami created a music video starring The Burger King and Chester Cheetah dancing to the Mark Morrison R&B song "Return of the Mack", remade as "Return of the Mac n' Cheetos".
