Sweet-and-spicy is a beloved flavor combination in many parts of the world, but, in much of North America, it still generates misunderstanding or even disgust.
It is only recently that we started to see it crop up in certain fancy restaurants as the hot pepper jelly on a cheese and charcuterie board or the Mexican hot chocolate currently trendy in some big cities.
On the mass-produced side, sweet-and-spicy is almost always done through the familiar flavor of barbecue. There have long been Doritos flavors known as Sweet Chili Heat and Spicy Sweet Chili. Owned by the wider Frito-Lay and Mondelez (MDLZ), the flavors were introduced in the 2000s and blend vaguely sweet barbecue flavors with hints of spice. (Neither chip is as "burn your mouth spicy" as, say, the storied Flamin' Hot flavor.)
Chicken wing chain Wingstop (WING) also offer a range of sweet-and-spicy wing sauces like the Hickory Smoked Barbecue.
The Baconator, But Candied
In Canada, Wendy's (WEN) is moving away from the barbecue theme with a different sweet-and-spicy flavor. Dubbed the Blazin’ Baconator, the new burger has spicy candied bacon and a mayonnaise sauce touched up with several spices.
The two beef patties totaling a quarter-pound of beef and six strips of bacon make the sandwich the same as the chain's regular Baconator — Wendy's Canada thought the candy coating on the bacon would help draw in customers with that extra bit of flair.
"The Blazin' Baconator adds brings a spicy kick to the Baconator, allowing customers to get the same, original flavors they know and crave but with added spice," Hayley Kianoff, manager of international culinary innovation at Wendy's, said in a statement.
Wendy's Canada/TS
This is a limited-time promotion that will only be available at participating Wendy's Canada restaurants while supplies last.
As most fast-food chains are currently in a mad push to get more customers to order through their apps, the Blazin' Baconator will also naturally be available through the Wendy's Canada website and mobile app.
More Meat, More Cheese, More Candy
There are many reasons why Wendy's may have chosen to test the waters with spicy meat and candied bacon. It may be a nod to what, in some parts of Canada, is the beloved and historically significant snack of candied salmon.
But sometimes, outrageous flavor combinations are done not with the goal of bringing in sales but expressly as a marketing trick intended to go viral.
In the "no bad publicity" principle, it doesn't really matter if the caption is "ew, gross," "they did what?!" or "you really have to try this" so long as people do not stop talking about it.
While comments about McDonald's (MCD) cilantro sundae were largely negative outside of its home market in China, it still helped generate internet buzz around the dessert and ultimately the company.
"These are part of a long tradition of companies creating new, slightly outrageous, fast food and snack food combinations – more cheese, more meat, more layers, adding sauces, [or] Cheetos, for crunch and a pop of flavor," food historian Ashley Rose Young told BBC in 2019.
Some items grow into internet sensations while most fizzle out but any person who is drawn in by the unusual product and shares a photo of it online is inadvertently doing the fast-food chains' marketing for them.
