Wendy’s is mixing up its menu, something the burger chain has been known to do in the past.
he fast-food chain holds the number two spot in the burger competition behind McDonald’s (MCD). The chain built its business based on the simple concept of ‘fresh, never frozen’ burgers.
Wendy’s (WEN) makes changes to its menu regularly, but the core menu items remain static. The chain offers the fresh, never frozen burgers, french fries, and the Frosty. One thing Wendy’s has over its competitor McDonald’s is its Frosty. McDonald’s is notorious for its ice cream machines not working, so getting a burger, fries and an ice cream dessert is something McDonald’s just can’t always deliver.
Wendy’s Frosty was one of the first menu items on the menu when the restaurant originally opened, and it is still here today. The chocolate Frosty is different than just a regular milkshake. It is meant to be eaten with a spoon, not sipped through a straw. If the consistency of the Frosty wasn’t superior to a milkshake, the fact that it is lower in calories should be.
Image source: Wendy's
Wendy’s Frosty 2.0 Returns
Wendy’s is bringing back the Vanilla Frosty after removing from the menu in June 2022. While some may claim that the chocolate Frosty is far superior to the vanilla, the Jr. Vanilla Frosty only has 190 calories, for those who are counting calories. The Jr. Chocolate Frosty has 200. Compared to a small Dairy Queen vanilla milk shake which has 520 calories Wendy's wins that round. Calories are listed according to each restaurant's online menu.
The Vanilla Frosty made its debut in August 2006 and the simple add to its menu was really just a subtraction of the chocolate in the making of the chocolate frosty, according to Reader’s Digest. The chocolate Frosty is a mixture of the vanilla and chocolate mixes.
The Vanilla Frosty came off the menu to make way for seasonal Frosty flavors. Strawberry Frosty was available during the summer and the Peppermint Frosty came out for the holidays in November. The Wendy's Frosty machines only have room for two flavors at a time, so it is necessary to drop one flavor to bring in a temporary seasonal one.
Wendy's Tests Other Menu Items
Wendy's has dabbled in new tasty and maybe not so tasty creations on its menu. The Vanilla Frosty made the cut for a come back on the menu. However, we're not quite sure if the purple Frosty will return. The Purple Frosty was introduced at TwitchCon 2022 and it was only available for three days.
TwitchCon is a convention put on by Twitch Interactive for gamers who focus on livestreaming and video gaming. The bold color of the frosty was purple and it's topped with nerd candies. Wendy's played off the audience at TwitchCon being dubbed, 'gaming nerd' with topping the unconventionally colored frosty with the tiny Nerd candy. Wendy's left its fans hanging on whether or not it would bring the Purple Frosty out for a real test run or not.
Over in the U.K., Wendy's offers a Strawberry Frosty Swirl. The treat is a Vanilla Frosty with strawberry topping drizzled in and on top of the cold creamy treat.
In Canada, Wendy's tried out a Caramel Apple Frosty, and in doing so, it had to drop the classic flavored Vanilla Frosty to make room for the new flavor. While the U.S. didn't get to taste the Caramel Apple Frosty, it did get to taste the Strawberry Frosty last summer. The success of the Strawberry Frosty led the company to believe that it should consider adding new flavors, and expanding beyond the two-flavor frosty system, according to Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor in the 2022 second quarter earnings call.
