Wendy's has always built its business around using fresh, never-frozen beef.
In fact, the company has made a lot of fairly vague statements about the quality of its food.
“Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s restaurant with an unwavering commitment to serve fresh food, at a fair price, in a comfortable atmosphere. More than 50 years later, doing the right thing, in the right way, is still what guides the company and our approach to corporate responsibility: Good Done Right,” the company shared on its website.
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That's noble, but also not very specific, so the company offered a more precise explanation of its menu.
“We start with fresh, high-quality ingredients and prepare them fresh to order,” it shared.
That sounds nice, but the chain has recently made a menu change that does not live up to that promise. Wendy's has also bragged about its chicken.
“We’re not chicken when it comes to quality. In 2017, Wendy’s invested nearly $30 million to begin sourcing chicken from smaller, younger birds. We found that smaller chickens = tastier, more tender and juicy chicken on salads and sandwiches,” it posted.
The problem is that Wendy's no longer uses whole-cut chicken on two of its chicken offerings.
Wendy's goes cheap on its chicken
While Wendy's (WEN) has always gotten a pass on its chicken nuggets, its chicken sandwiches had always been made from sliced chicken. That has changed, which Reddit user AlfShular noticed last year when it happened first in Canada.
“Hey, had a question for those that have a Wendy’s in Canada. Has anyone ordered a crispy chicken sandwich and noticed the chicken being different like a ground chicken type texture? Instead of the normal stringy chicken breast type texture? My friend seems convinced that they secretly changed it to a ground chicken patty now but I tried telling him it could be a fluke or a one off type mistake because he ordered one recently and that’s how it came to him, he disagrees,” they posed.
That change did happen, according to a post from Brand Eating.
“Wendy's quietly swapped the whole-cut chicken of its Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit for a new, ground chicken patty that's shared with the chain's value-priced Crispy Chicken Sandwich about a year ago, the website reported.
Both sandwiches switched to the new patty, which is not as wide as the previous Crispy Chicken Sandwich patty but is thicker.
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“While there's an obvious textural difference between the meaty sinew of whole-cut chicken and the smooth texture of the ground chicken, the patty was thicker than typical of a chicken patty, with a decided plumpness to it. The breading was thin but very crispy. It was nice for the price, but I still prefer the previous version,” the site shared.
Wendy's has been offering the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit for $1 and has included the Crispy Chicken sandwich on value meals. The change in chicken is almost certainly a cost-cutting move.
Chicken has been a focus for Wendy's
Outgoing Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner talked about chicken during his company's first-quarter earnings call.
“So let me talk about chicken. One, that we're very intentional about putting the Takis collaboration with our Chicken Sandwich. And we do see chicken as a major opportunity,” he shared.
The chain partnered with Takis for a version of its fried chicken sandwich.
Tanner, who is leaving the chain for the top job at Hershey, was vague in some of his comments on chicken.
“We will announce later this year, our plans to holistically look at the chicken. We have been working on it. I've tried these products. We have a lot coming your way from a chicken standpoint,” he added.
That includes a premium chicken product.
“I would think about delivering the best Chicken Sandwich in the industry, plus we're looking at other chicken innovations that go with that. That will be coming shortly. I'd say we're very intentional about, again, setting up our chicken, getting momentum in that part of our menu,” he added.
Tanner did not comment on the change to chicken patties on two of its sandwiches.
Wendy’s changed its chicken sandwich, biscuit
- Wendy’s swapped whole-cut chicken for a ground chicken patty on:
- Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit
- Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- The change started in Canada, then expanded to the U.S.
- Fans noticed a difference in texture and size.
- The move likely reflects cost-cutting, as these items are on value menus.
- CEO Kirk Tanner teased new premium chicken items but didn’t address the downgrade.
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