Familiar Favorites Are Back On Menus As Nostalgia Shapes Menu Introductions

Major chains are reviving discontinued items and throwback experiences, as nostalgia becomes a deliberate menu strategy heading into the summer.

McDonald’s today officially brought back its Fried Apple Pie following a more-than-30-year absence, while Burger King recently revived its crown-shaped chicken nuggets for the first time in 15 years. Taco Bell’s Enchirito, a part-burrito, part-enchilada hybrid that has cycled on and off menus since its introduction in 1970, is back again this summer for a limited time.

The nostalgia push extends beyond reintroductions. Dairy Queen offered 50-cent drinks framed as “lemonade stand prices” for a dose of sunny-season nostalgia. Pizza Hut is reviving its classic dine-in experience at select locations, complete with red booths and checkered tablecloths. Krispy Kreme recently launched a limited-time Masters of the Universe doughnut collection, tapping into the 1980s He-Man franchise.

Those and other limited-time offers feed into a broader nostalgia shift that’s been showing up in consumer data. Trials of well-established items such as vodka sauce and espresso martinis showed among the strongest gains measured in Datassential’s Hot Takes: Consumer Preference Shifts report. The firm calls the pattern “newstalgia” — familiar items regaining relevance through wider adoption rather than novelty. 

To be sure, the embrace of familiar flavors

has been building for some time. This past spring, Datassential’s Launches & Ratings platform showed that a near decade high in dessert LTOs was driven in part by nostalgic flavors like banana.

“Banana is comforting and nostalgic, which makes it a natural candidate for experimentation,” said Huy Do, a Datassential Trendologist.

According to Datassential’s 2026 Desserts report, more than a third of monthly dessert consumers say a new twist on a familiar favorite would prompt them to try something new.