Several factors have contributed to the recent success of Wendy’s Co., but at the end of the day, it’s still about the food.
The Dublin, Ohio-based restaurant chain hosted stock analysts at its annual investor day Thursday and one of the presentations looked at where its menu has been and where it might be going.
“Wendy’s is almost 50 years of age and is more popular than ever before,” said chief marketing officer Kurt Kane. “That’s a telling story.”
And the food is that story. Success means bringing in more customers more often, and that’s what Wendy’s has been doing on its 16-quarter run of sales growth.
Kane divided Wendy’s diners into two categories — fans who choose Wendy’s for more than 30 percent of their fast food meals, and spectators who choose Wendy’s for less than 30 percent of their fast food meals. The goal is to convert those spectators.
In addition to improvements on the core menu — the company is making a $30 million investment in smaller, more tender chickens — here are some of the new products being tested that could be used to convert those occasional customers:
- Green chile queso burger.
- Truffle bacon cheeseburger.
- Bacon portobello swiss burger.
- Fresh mozzarella chicken sandwich.
- Bacon maple chicken sandwich on a croissant.
- Fresh mozzarella salad.
One decent bet to make it to the masses is the Bacon queso burger. Analysts were served that for lunch alongside bacon queso fries. Kane, a Texas native, said Wendy’s queso research included time at several Austin eateries.
“This holds up,” he said.
Innovation is occurring in beverages as well. In addition to its line of Fruitea Chillers, made in partnership with Honest Tea, Wendy’s also has developed a proprietary line of sodas, the first of which is Dave’s cherry cream soda, available in Wendy’s Coca-Cola Freestyle machines and named for founder Dave Thomas.
Kane said that soda was the sixth-best-selling soda for the chain on its first day of availability and that it has grown in popularity since.
Value perception has been a struggle in the past, but in Kane’s words, the brand “turned the corner” in 2016 with its 4 for $4 deals combining a sandwich, drink, fries and chicken nuggets. Those deals are bringing in younger consumers as well as a greater percentage of African American and Hispanic diners. Wendy’s has been able to keep those deals fresh by adding in or swapping in different sandwiches — junior bacon cheeseburger, crispy chicken BLT, swiss junior bacon cheeseburger and now, for a limited time, the Double Stack.
“Our competitors are trying to do the same, but we’re getting credit for being first,” Kane said.