Wendy's adds menu item that McDonald's dropped

Wendy's has quietly become McDonald's biggest challenger in the fast-food burger space. 

The upstart chain has passed Burger King for the No. 2 spot in the U.S., at least partly by marketing its products as better.

While McDonald's (MCD) - Get Free Report and Burger King have prioritized the "fast" part of fast food, Wendy's built its reputation on offering a quality burger. The chain marketed its burgers as "fresh, never frozen," and it made fun of McDonald's burger patties in its famed "Where's the Beef?" 1980s advertising campaign.

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In recent years, Wendy's has also challenged its two big rivals on value and innovation. The chain has made its 4 for $4 and $5 Biggie Bags foundational parts of its menu. That has helped it hold onto customers who are facing increasing financial pressure.

Wendy's (WEN) - Get Free Report has also become known for product innovation. The chain may not add a lot of new items each year, but the ones it has added have generally been sales drivers.

The chain has a bona fide hit with its Baconator, which has led to Baconator Fries, and the Breakfast Baconator. It has also been clever with its changing Frosty flavors and has slowly added new items to its breakfast menu.

Wendy's adds a new take on a McDonald's favorite

Wendy's added breakfast in March 2020, a really unfortunate time because that was the beginning of the period where covid forced people into lockdown. Normal patterns were disrupted and consumers simply weren't eating breakfast outside as often because many of them weren't commuting to work.

That made it difficult for Wendy's to gain breakfast market share, but over the past few years, as the world has returned to something approaching normal. the chain has become a fast-food player. It has tweaked its opening-day menu, adding a few new items but nothing that has become a huge hit.

It's possible that will change as Wendy's' latest breakfast addition will seem awfully familiar to McDonald's fans. During the pandemic, McDonald's shortened its menu and a morning favorite, Cinnamelts, did not make the cut. Many of the brand's fans have called for a return of the sticky, pull-apart cinnamon roll-like product.

Wendy's heard those calls and plans to add its version of Cinnamelts to its menus next month.

Wendy's partners with Cinnabon

"Wendy's is teaming up with Cinnabon for new breakfast Pull-Aparts and I cannot wait to try these! They are scheduled to drop in late February and come with a cinnamon roll pull-apart base and a scoop of Cinnabon's delicious frosting on top," the Snackolator Instagram page shared.

The Wendy's Pull-Aparts look a lot like the much-missed McDonald's Cinnamelts, with the added bonus of Cinnabon's famous frosting.

This partnership is not Cinnabon's first morning collaboration that brings its brand outside its own stores. The company also has a partnership with Yum Brands' Taco Bell for its Cinnabon Delights.

Those are a fairly differentiated product that are more like filled doughnut holes, with the filling being Cinnabon's frosting.

Snackolator hopes that the Wendy's/Cinnabon partnership will lead to a dream product.

"Now I hold out hope that someday Wendy's will release a Cinnabon Frosty — that is a dream flavor that could be absolutely delicious — the cinnamon sugar plus cream cheese taste in a Frosty could be legendary," the site shared.

Cinnabon does sell flavored iced coffees in its stores, including one designed to taste like its signature product. Wendy's has a Frosty cappuccino that uses Frosty mix in its iced coffee.

McDonald's also got rid of its more traditional cinnamon roll in July 2023 when it cut back its McCafe pastry line.