It Might Be A Wrap For McDonald's Salads

Anyone thinking that not many people go to McDonald's for their salads has now had their suspicions confirmed by the fast food giant itself.

At a conference on Wednesday, CEO Don Thompson told investors that the chain is moving away from promotion of its entrée salads, Bloomberg News reports. "I don't see salads as being a major growth driver in the near future," Thompson said, as he revealed that McDonald's salads make up only about two to three percent of its sales.

Instead of ferociously pushing its meal salads in order to project a healthier image and lure in more health-conscious American customers, as has become the trend for fast food restaurants in recent years, McDonald's will now be pursuing that demographic through other means, such as focusing on McWraps and its far more profitable Dollar Menu. Indeed, earlier this year it announced plans to cut the fruit & walnut salad among other menu items, as the Huffington Post reported.

This change in focus comes at a time when McDonald's is struggling to attract new customers in a changing fast food environment. Its profit margins fell in the first quarter of 2013, and some of that has been attributed to a lack of new menu items and innovation. So now the question remains as to whether offerings like "healthy" McWraps and egg white sandwiches can bring more people through the golden arches, when salads apparently could not.