Wendy’s adds English muffin sandwiches to breakfast menu

Dive Brief:

Fresh off its highest-ever quarterly breakfast sales, Wendy’s is introducing a pair of English muffin sandwiches to its morning lineup, according to a press release issued Monday. One sandwich is made with bacon, eggs and cheese, and the other includes sausage, eggs and cheese.
The sandwiches are a permanent addition to Wendy’s breakfast menu and will be available beginning Aug. 22.
Wendy’s is looking to its breakfast offerings to “deliver outsized sales growth in 2023 and beyond,” President and CEO Todd Penegor said on the company’s Q2 earnings call.

Dive Insight:

Wendy’s tested more than 60 versions of the English muffins before settling on the final variation, said John Li, global vice president of culinary innovation. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the nature and duration of the testing.

To persuade customers to try the breakfast sandwiches, and encourage morning traffic, Wendy’s will offer $2 off any breakfast combo between Aug. 22 and Sept. 3, according to the press release.

The recent growth in Wendy’s breakfast sales was driven by its $3 croissant promotion, Penegor said. Recent menu changes, including the Frosty Cream Cold brew, and some “innovation” Penegor teased — likely the English Muffins — have been geared toward driving customers from other dayparts to try the company’s breakfast offerings.

“A majority of our customers that have tried us at lunch or dinner that have not yet tried us for breakfast,” Penegor said. “That's an opportunity at the restaurant level as we continue to focus on breakfast.”

While Penegor expressed broad satisfaction with the growth of Wendy’s breakfast daypart, breakfast sales growth was in line with overall sales growth, rather than outpacing it. Penegor said the company is still looking to ingrain breakfast as a consumer habit. There is still room to grow sales without added labor costs, which could positively impact cash flow, he said.

“We've got the staffing model set really well, so we can take on a lot more sales in the breakfast day part to drive a lot of profit with the existing labor model,” Penegor said.