U.S. fast-food restaurant chain operator Wendy's International LLC. is winning the breakfast war with its closest competitors struggling to keep their shares of the hotly contested segment. With the virus pandemic nearly erasing demand for quick breakfasts before the morning commute competitors such as McDonald's Corp. and Dunkin' Brands Inc.'s Dunkin' Donuts are now lagging behind.
With many forced to work at home Wendy's breakfast menu was expected to flop after it launched just two weeks before the pandemic hit in March. That wasn't the case. Wendy's announced late last week that its breakfast menu now accounted for more than 8 percent of its sales. The company expects that number to grow to about 10 percent by the end of the year.
Wendy's is pleasantly surprised at the success of its breakfast offerings, chief executive officer Todd Penegor said during the company's recent earnings call. It has received mostly positive feedback from customers and the strength of its new breakfast offerings has led to an increase in sales in most of the stores that have started offering the meals, he said.
Since launched March 2 roughly 300 of the company's 6,000 outlets in the U.S. are offering breakfast to customers. The company said it planned to offer the new food at more stores throughout the rest of the year.
Unlike competitors Wendy's is offering a wide variety of breakfast items including its signature Breakfast Baconator and its Frosty Iced Cappuccinos. Penegor said the success could be partly attributed to consumer boredom with typical menu items served up by competitors. His company is offering less traditional items - most of which consumers want to try out.
The release of the new menu came as competitors were struggling to cope with reduced demand as a result of the pandemic, analysts at Mintel Group Ltd. Said. During its second-quarter earnings call, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said its breakfast menu was one of its weakest areas. At the height of the crisis McDonald's was forced to pull its all-day breakfast, among other items. Others such as Dunkin', Taco Bell, and Starbucks also took similar action to reduce costs.
