Wendy's might have the highest-end hamburger in the fast-food space with its fresh, never frozen, square patties.
Offering quality has always been a key part of the company's customer proposition. Wendy's (WEN) -) effectively built its business on positioning its burger as being better than the ones offered by McDonald's and Burger King.
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Quality, however, has only been part of how Wendy's has passed Burger King to become the number two fast-food burger chain in the United States. The Dave Thomas-founded company has also leaned heavily into value and has very carefully protected two key price points.
First, Wendy's continues to offer its famous 4 for $4. That offering includes a burger, a 4-piece, chicken nuggets, fries, and a soda. It also offers the $5 Biggie Bag which gives customers a similar offer but with a broader choice of sandwich.
Those deals are a better value -- at least based on the volume of food versus cost -- than anything offered by McDonald's (MCD) -) and Burger King. Wendy's might make a lower margin on customers who just buy its $4 and $5 value offerings, but it holds onto those customers and has a chance to upsell them high-margin items like its famed Frosty.
Now, as the chain looks to make a bigger mark in breakfast, Wendy's has built a new offer around an even lower price point. It's a bold play for a company that has been steadily building the morning daypart since it launched its breakfast menu in the early days of the covid pandemic.
Image source: Getty Images.
Wendy's adds a $3 breakfast deal
Wendy's has offered a $3 breakfast deal in the past, and it appears set for a comeback, according to social media reports and a story on Fast Food Post.
"Wendy’s will reportedly once again be offering value at the $3 price point with the launch of a new 2 for $3 mix-and-match breakfast deal at participating locations starting next week. While the exact date hasn’t been confirmed yet, reliable sources tell The Fast Food Post that the new value menu will be available nationwide for a limited time beginning August 22, 2023," the website reported.
This new iteration of the deal will allow customers to select two breakfast menu items from a list including four options: the Sausage Biscuit, Egg & Cheese Biscuit, Small Seasoned Potatoes, and a small brewed coffee. If you wanted to, you could get two of the same item (much like the company teases in its current TV commercials promoting a similar lunch/dinner value deal).
Wendy's public relations agency did not immediately return a request for comment on this story.
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Wendy's continues to grow its breakfast business
While Wendy's no longer shares specific dollar sales for its breakfast business, CEO Todd Penegor did speak broadly about the daypart during his company's first-quarter earnings call.
"On the breakfast front, we continued to lean into the strength of French toast sticks and close the quarter with the start of our croissant promotion, entering Q2 with an uptick in momentum," he said.
The CEO shared that the company wants to build not just its mornings, but also its late-night business.
"We also have plans in place to accelerate our momentum at the bookends of the day breakfast and late night, we have plans for increased activity to drive the breakfast business in the U.S. and Canada. For the remainder of the year. It will lean into our playbook of building awareness around our craveable products, launching exciting menu innovation, and promoting targeted trial-driving offers," he added.
