# Beef Tallow Snacks Are a $1.1B Category — Built on a Fat McDonald's Dropped in 1990
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Answer-first summary: Beef tallow product sales hit $1.1 billion for the 52 weeks ending March 2026, up 275% over three years, per Spins data cited by Food Dive, as Utz and Conagra add tallow-cooked snacks. The boom is built on a fat McDonald's dropped in 1990 — a return of a 1,000-year-old rendered fat, not a new invention.
Primary topic: beef tallow snacks
Published: 2026-06-22
Updated: 2026-06-22
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- Alt text: Beef tallow-cooked potato chips and a jar of rendered tallow beside a vintage fryer
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## What's happening
Beef tallow has crossed from wellness subculture into mainstream snacks. Sales of foods containing beef tallow hit $1.1 billion for the 52 weeks ending March 2026, up 275% over three years, per Spins data cited by Food Dive, and major brands such as Utz and Conagra have launched tallow-cooked products [1]. Whole Foods named tallow its top 2026 trend [2].
## The history behind it
Tallow is rendered beef fat, solid at room temperature, used for frying, pastry and soap for centuries. It was the original fast-food fryer oil — McDonald's cooked its fries in beef tallow until 1990, when it switched to vegetable oil, a switch still argued about because the tallow fries are remembered as the flavor benchmark [3]. The 2026 snack boom is that fat returning to the pantry and the chip aisle.
## Why it matters
The food-history value is that a $1.1 billion 2026 category is a fat returning from a 35-year exile. The "new" snack fat is the fat McDonald's left behind. For the full history of beef tallow and the french-fries origin dispute, see the articles below.
## How to try it
Tallow-cooked snacks are still niche, so look for them at natural-food stores, online, and from brands moving into tallow lines. If you want to try the fat itself, buy food-grade beef tallow or render your own from suet, and use it for roasted potatoes, fries, or pie crust. A little goes a long way, and it has a high smoke point. Store tallow sealed in the fridge or freezer. For the full tallow history and the french-fries origin dispute, read below.
## Sources & References
1. “Beef tallow takeover: Big food companies begin to embrace MAHA ingredient.” Food Dive (2026) https://www.fooddive.com/news/beef-tallow-takeover-big-food-companies-begin-to-embrace-maha-ingredient/815598/
2. “Whole Foods Market Forecasts the Top Food and Beverage Trends for 2026.” Nasdaq / Whole Foods Market (2025) https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/whole-foods-market-forecasts-top-food-and-beverage-trends-2026-2025-10-08
3. Harold McGee “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.” Scribner (2004)
Related canonical pages: [Beef Tallow](https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/food/beef-tallow) | [Butter](https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/food/butter) | [The History of the French Fry: France, Belgium and the Origin Debate](https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/collections/food-history-case-files/french-fries-origin-dispute)