Wendy’s breakfast menu could overtake Burger King, 2 years after launch
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Wendy’s New York City restaurant will be offering a variety of breakfast options, including a Breakfast Baconator or Seasoned Potatoes.
David Dee Delgado | Getty Images
It was two years ago. Wendy’sIt launched its nationwide breakfast menu, successfully completing a task it had attempted and failed to achieve for almost four decades. Covid lockdowns were next.
Prior to the pandemic breakfast was the most popular meal at fast-food outlets. People were choosing healthier alternatives or making their own meals. Lunch and dinner traffic decreased. Wendy’s would like to offer breakfast, so it could attract more sales and not have to sacrifice lunch, snacks, or dinner traffic.
Covid seized control, but Wendy’s remained true to their plan. They continued serving egg sandwiches and breakfast hamburgers even though other restaurants opened later or reduced their offerings in the morning. The third largest market share in competitive breakfast categories is now held by it. Restaurant Brands International’sBurger King, a dominant McDonald’s.
The fourth quarter of 2021 saw breakfast sales account for about 8%. This is far below its goal of 10%. The company’s breakfast sales grew by 25% last year. Wendy’s believes that the morning segment has room for growth. According to the hamburger chain, its breakfast sales are expected to rise 10%-20% by 2022.
Kurt Kane, Wendy’s U.S. president, stated that while we are currently number three in the U.S., “for us right now we’re very solidly established and very quickly, but we’re only a sharepoint behind Burger King,” in an interview. Our first task is to get rid of them, and we are very certain that we can do this in the not too distant future.
Burger King USA has been struggling in recent years. Its weak performance on breakfast has not helped. This is the fourth quarterBurger King’s U.S. sales in the same store rose by 1.8%, a decline that is below both McDonald’s (and Wendy’s) metrics for home markets.
Kane indicated that he believed Wendy’s would eventually surpass McDonald’s in this early-morning segment.
“We believe the Frozen Arches had ample time at the top in the breakfast category but we think that we’ll continue nipping at that and goingbble up share across all the other categories,” he stated.
Wendy’s, a Wendy’s restaurant chain in Canada, announced that its spring breakfast menu would now be available to Canadian customers late February.
Over the last twelve months, shares of the company rose 7.6%. This brings its market capitalization to $4.76 Billion. The stock has underperformed the S&P 500, but it’s doing better than shares of McDonald’s and Restaurant Brands International.
Being a Pandemic Winner
Wendy’s breakfast menu was nationwide only for about two weeks. That is before localities and states ordered restaurants to close down their dining rooms to allow delivery and take-out.
Kane claims that the company had discussed with franchisors the possibility of changing its breakfast plans once lockdowns were in effect. However, their operators vowed to keep the momentum alive.
Kane stated, “We had a great start. We were well ahead of all projections in the first two weeks.” It was clear that we had the potential to create new habits and fans if we kept it up.
Wendy’s was able to beat the rest of the competitors because it had designed its first half-hour of breakfast service for drive-thru.
Wall Street analysts also predicted that fast food rivals would increase their breakfast offerings and advertise to retain customers. Many restaurants ended up hoarding money, cutting advertising, and eliminating promotional offers as sales plummeted.
Wendy’s used the opportunity to increase marketing spending and raise awareness.
This pandemic did not only affect the marketing plans of competitors. Because of staffing problems, some fast food restaurants stopped offering the breakfast meal in the early morning to keep their profits high. Many Taco Bell restaurants opened after the breakfast hour and resumed business as usual in September.
Despite this, Wendy’s isn’t immune from the pressures of the pandemic. Although franchisees of Wendy’s had difficulties with staffing, like the rest of restaurant industry, Kane indicated that efforts were made to increase the number of workers before opening the breakfast location.
Changing routines
Customers had the chance to create a new habit in the morning by choosing Wendy’s Breakfast Launch.
Kane stated, “Even though we didn’t do it the same way as usual, it might have helped us since it allowed us to build it steadily.”
Consumers stopped driving to school or work, and changed their morning routines. Cereal orange juice salesAfter years of decline, the market for breakfast is booming again. StarbucksMany customers, such as those at, opted to delay their visit and opt for an after-lunch cup of coffee over a morning pot.
Wendy’s predicted before the pandemic that it would see its highest volume between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. when people went to work. The company instead saw the longest lines for breakfast in the final half hour.
This is changing as more people return to schools and offices.
He stated that breakfast mobility, even though its pattern may be different than before, is back at the level it was preandemic.
The season runs from September through November According to The NPD Group, online and in-person visits to breakfast restaurants rose 11% compared to a 10% decrease in the previous year.
Wendy’s used aggressive promotion to attract customers back to their restaurants as well as build awareness about its breakfast options. From November to mid-December, it sold its egg and cheese biscuit sandwiches — with a choice of sausage or bacon — for just $1. Kane indicated that similar deals can be expected over the next few months.
Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit was also launched by the chain. The Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit is the inspiration for the new item. It also combines the Breakfast Baconator and Honey Chicken Biscuit as Wendy’s best-selling breakfast products.
Between the two crowd favorites, though, Kane has a clear favorite: He claims to have eaten 720 Breakfast Baconators since the official launch — just about one a day.
Kane stated, “Somedays you get two and some days you don’t. But you need to find a balance.”
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