While Wendy's has become the number two fast-food burger chain in the United States, it often trails McDonald's and Burger King when it comes to media and social media attention.
McDonald's commands attention because of its size and its deep roster of iconic menu items and characters. While Burger King has the Whopper, McDonald's has a stunning array of high-profile products.
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"Core menu items – like the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, and World-Famous Fries – are truly the core of this business, representing about 65% of systemwide sales and driving profitable growth. Seventeen classic McDonald’s menu items are billion-dollar brands in their own right, beloved by customers around the world," McDonald's shared on its website in 2023.
Everyone knows most, if not all of those brands, which allows McDonald's to make a lot of noise with relatively incremental moves. The chain, for example, got global coverage for making slight changes to its burgers, which included adding more signature Big Mac Sauce to the Big Mac.
Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) Burger King has tried to rival those moves by offering seamlessly endless takes on The Whopper, its only product with similar brand recognition. Wendy's (WEN) can make a case for its Baconator as a signature sandwich, but it's a distant third to Whopper and Big Mac.
That leaves the chain with one well-known signature product to play with and if Wendy's wants to offer a new version, it has to remove an old one.
Image source: Wendy's
Wendy's does have a signature product
While Wendy's may not have a signature burger to rival the Big Mac or the Whopper, it does have the Frosty. The not quite a shake and not quite an ice cream product turned 50 in 2019 and Fred Kappus, who helped Wendy's founder Dave Thomas bring the frozen(ish) treat to menus reflected on its origin on the Wendy's Square Deal Blog.
"The Frosty formula was inspired by ice cream that a race track in Cleveland had in the 1960s. I think it was at Thistledown. A lot of people in Cleveland were familiar with the frosted malts at Thistle made by our machines," he shared.
Kappus explained how Frosty's signature chocolate flavor was invented.
"They had a sign at the race track: SECRET FORMULA, FROSTED MALTED. It wasn’t really a secret recipe. The idea of mixing vanilla into chocolate was a general idea to make the chocolate a bit smoother and give it more of a malty flavor," he shared.
At first Wendy's locations had a single Frosty machine but ultimately every location added a second in order to keep up with demand. That also allowed the chain to add a Vanilla version in 2006, which quickly became a fan favorite.
A number of other flavors followed, but with a major caveat. To offer a new flavor, either Vanilla or Chocolate has to go away.
Wendy's has a bold new Frosty
Wendy's has never taken the classic Chocolate Frosty off its menu. Instead, whenever it offers limited time flavors like Peppermint, Strawberry, Pumpkin Spice, and more, the Vanilla Frosty gets sidelined.
That's happening again as the fast-food giant has introduced a first-of-its-kind take on a classic ice cream/beverage treat.
"Wendy’s Orange Dreamsicle Frosty combines the sweet, creamy orange flavor of a dreamsicle with the brand’s signature Vanilla Frosty to craft a dessert with a sweet and citrus flavor for the very first time," the Fast Food Post reported.
Once the new flavor hits the menu, however, customers won't be able to order the Vanilla Frosty.
"Beginning March 19, 2024, the Orange Dreamsicle Frosty will be added alongside the classic Chocolate Frosty to menus across the country, temporarily taking the place of the Vanilla Frosty, available for a limited time at participating US restaurants," the website added.
