The Financial Post reports in its Monday edition that fast-food chain Harvey's keeps a growing list of ways customers mash together or transform menu items into something new. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post says that some food hacks are as simple as coating chicken nuggets in a blend of barbecue and ghost pepper sauces, but others take things to a new level, like dropping pie or cinnamon sugar doughnuts into a milkshake. Chains are increasingly embracing hacks -- as long as diners build the dishes themselves. The reason they are leaning into the phenomenon is as much about appeasing customers as it is about boosting brand awareness and profitability. Harvey's considers the cost, preparation time, whether it requires new equipment to produce, even how long the dish will hold up after delivery. McDonald's mulled similar factors when it debuted a slate of menu hacks last week, including a chicken cheeseburger and a sweet chili junior chicken. A&W did the same ahead of its February launch of the "piri piri potato buddy," a hash-brown-filled sandwich. The growing inclination to go beyond standard customizations to menu hacking, many say, is being driven by social media and an affinity for all things new.