Wendy’s Unveils Its First New Breakfast Item In Two Years

Spice Up Your Breakfast: Wendy's Expands Menu with Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit

Have you been waiting impatiently for Wendy's breakfast menu to expand in flavor? It's finally over!

Wendy's is adding a new item to its morning menu: the Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit. This mouthwatering sandwich has a fiery twist thanks to the honey and habanero.

So the real question is, does it meet up to the expectations? Join us as we explore the flavor profile, popularity, and expanding trend of spicier foods in the fast food business as we dive into the sweet and spicy world of Wendy's newest breakfast innovation.

The chain is introducing a new item on February 8: the $3.19 Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit, which is a fried chicken cutlet drenched in hot honey sauce with habanero spice and served on a buttermilk biscuit. In a cutthroat daypart, Wendy's first expansion of its morning menu—which made its debut in 2020, just weeks before the pandemic—has proven successful.

This is the first time we've added flavor to the main breakfast menu. After almost two years in the breakfast business, Carl Loredo, Chief Marketing Officer at Wendy's, told CNN Business in an exclusive interview that "it's time to build on the overall flavor offerings." He continued by saying that the taste of sweet honey and habanero spice "brings a nice balance" that doesn't overpower the tongue.

According to Loredo, there are no plans to eliminate any products from the menu. The new choice is a hotter version of the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, which is still one of Wendy's most popular breakfast options.

"We're not taking anything away from our customers; instead, we're just giving them a little extra flavor in the morning," he declared. The Breakfast Baconator, Frosty-ccino, and seasoned potato wedges are some of the other best-selling products.

Wendy's has seen tremendous success with breakfast, particularly after the industry's revenues fell in 2020 as a result of disruptions to morning routines brought on by the epidemic. The chain stated in its most recent earnings report that breakfast makes up 7.5% of sales, despite spending almost $25 million on advertisements last year to promote its morning menu.

The research firm NDP Group reports that during the 12-month period ending in November 2021, the number of visits to fast food outlets increased by 10%. The market for fast food breakfast, which is down 2% from the same period in 2019, hasn't entirely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, either. However, compared to 2019, consumers are spending 9% more, partly due to price hikes.

In a recent comment regarding the breakfast business, David Portalatin, an NPD food industry adviser, stated, "We're in a steady state for the next several months, perhaps with a bump up or down here and there, but we expect to lag pre-pandemic traffic levels through 2022 slightly."

Wendy's is more upbeat, projecting a 30% growth in morning meal sales by 2022.

"Considering how severely the breakfast daypart has been impacted, it's astounding. Despite all the obstacles, we have been able to witness the rise in breakfast since Covid-19," Loredo stated. Although the restaurant sees a lot of return business for breakfast, he continued, there is still a "big opportunity to let folks know that we've got it."

Another spicy sandwich

Wendy's is introducing a new Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich for lunch and supper. It consists of a fried chicken breast with melted pepper jack cheese, bacon, crispy pickles, and hot honey sauce on top. That costs $5.99 and goes on sale on February 8.

Wendy's is the most recent chain to consistently broaden its range of flavors; it has been serving spicy cuisine for a long time. American palates are "opening up to a little more heat and the complexities that people are enjoying," according to Loredo, which is driving increased demand for spice.

In recent weeks, other chains have also begun to vary their offerings. The Diablo Dare sandwich, available at Arby's through February 6, has five different sources of spice: fire-roasted jalapenos, ghost pepper jack cheese, spicy hot seasoning, and a unique BBQ sauce, all of which are layered on a red chipotle bread. It includes a complimentary vanilla milkshake because it's so hot.

Additionally, last week Pizza Hut began offering their spicier pizza yet. The pizza chain stated that customers are requesting more and more spicy cuisine, and that these menu items attract a younger and more varied clientele.

Wendy's is bucking the trend a little by combining sweet and spicy flavors. "We don't just serve atomically hot food, like wings and other items where the focus is on making food that is unbelievably hot," Loredo stated. "We should include both sweetness and spice because those flavors together create a really complex mouthfeel, which is what customers want."

Frequently asked Questions

What's new on Wendy's menu?

The Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit, a $3.19 fried chicken cutlet topped with hot honey sauce infused with habanero pepper and served on a buttermilk biscuit, is a new addition to Wendy's morning menu. Additionally, the restaurant chain is introducing a new lunch and supper item called the Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich. It consists of a fried chicken breast covered in melted pepper jack cheese, bacon, crispy pickles, and hot honey sauce.

Why is Wendy's adding spicy items to its menu?

Wendy's is responding to the increasing demand for spicy food among American consumers. The chain is also looking to attract younger and more diverse customers, who are more likely to crave spicy food.

How is Wendy's breakfast performing?

Wendy's breakfast has been booming, especially after the sector’s sales slumped in 2020 because of pandemic-driven disruptions to morning routines. The chain reports that breakfast accounts for 7.5% of sales, and expects morning meals to grow as much as 30% in 2022.

Conclusion

Wendy's has introduced the Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit, demonstrating their commitment to innovation in the rapidly evolving morning sector. With its distinct combination of sweet honey and habanero pepper spice, this spicy version demonstrates Wendy's dedication to enhancing its flavor profile.

Furthermore, Wendy is still optimistic about breakfast growth in spite of the current difficulties brought on by the pandemic. The unanswered question is whether Wendy's upgraded breakfast menu will be enough to maintain this success and draw in new customers. The future of Wendy's breakfast and its influence on the industry will be interesting to watch as the business adjusts to constantly changing consumer tastes.