Wendy’s fans eagerly anticipating the Breakfast Baconator can get it sooner than expected. The company confirmed that several markets have started serving the new breakfast menu ahead of its US launch date of March 2. In September 2019, Wendy’s announced that it’s entering the highly competitive breakfast battle because it’s one of the few growing parts of the day for the fast-food industry.
The full menu consists of nine sandwiches, including a morning edition of its famed Baconator. There are three new sandwiches served on croissants, biscuits and classic buns with eggs and meat. It’s also debuting a maple bacon chicken croissant and a honey butter chicken biscuit. New side dishes include potato wedges and sausage gravy. There’s a new blend of coffee and an iced Frosty-ccino.
Wendy’s (WEN) regularly uses its Twitter account to mock its rivals, including an appearance from Burger King’s mascot that appears excited for the new menu.
Oof. We’ve got 6 days till March 2nd. Seems excessive but hey, you’re the King. pic.twitter.com/PmL2uLtnPz
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) February 25, 2020
As Wendy’s gets ready to make its move, McDonald’s, the leader in fast food breakfast, isn’t sitting idly by. It has begun offering two breakfast sandwiches for $4 for a limited time. Plus, several other well-entrenched competitors already have breakfast, including Dunkin’ (DNKN)and Panera.
Serving breakfast is costly. Wendy’s said in its earnings report released Wednesday that its 2019 fourth-quarter profits fell because of the breakfast investment. The chain is spending around $20 million to hire about 20,000 employees and serve breakfast in its 6,000 locations nationwide. And it plans to spend between $70 and $80 million this year on advertising the new menu.