(CNN Business) — Few things in life are worse than a soggy french fry. Wendy’s says it has a solution.
The fast-food chain is giving its top-selling menu item a makeover for the Covid era: a fry that retains more heat and keeps its crispiness longer compared to its predecessor. The upgraded fry, which will be available nationwide by mid-September, was created as more people shift their ordering preferences to drive-thrus and delivery because of the pandemic.
Although the look of the new fries will be familiar to Wendy’s fans, the flavor won’t.
“They’re going to notice a difference as soon as they taste it,” Wendy’s President Kurt Kane told CNN Business in an exclusive interview. “The proof will be in the tasting.”
“What we’ve done is balance the cut of the fry and kept a little bit of the skin of the potato on the fry to be able to drive flavor,” he said. “We used a batter system that allows us to be able to maintain crispiness, both when they’re fresh and hot out of the fryer as well as several minutes later.”
The batter system is when the fries are dunked in oil. Kane said the fries are improved because restaurants are using new fry baskets that are shorter, helping the fries be fully submerged in oil.
“What those new fry baskets do is enable us to make sure that we fry the fries correctly each and every time,” he added.
Wendy’s spent the past four years researching how to upgrade their fries. About 20 different designs were considered before landing on one that’s “fairly consistent in shape and size where we’ve been historically,” Kane said.
The last time Wendy’s changed their fries was in November 2010, when it added sea salt and used a natural “skin-on” cut. That was the first time it had tweaked the fries since opening in 1969.
Ultimately, the idea of the improved fry was to “put an end to disappointing and inconsistent fry experiences that other places still serve,” he said.
Early reactions are positive: Wendy’s cited a national taste test conducted by the company that showed participants preferred the chain’s new fries over McDonald’s in a two-to-one margin. Kane said it’s on the “right track to outperform our old fry.”
As drive-thru and delivery sales increased over the past year, cold, soggy fries have become a pain point for customers.
“A lot of the design characteristics are built around making sure that we can serve a hot and crispy fry every time, no matter how you choose to access Wendy’s,” he said. The fries will still be salted and will be served in new packaging that “reinforces what makes the fries special.”
Kane declined to comment about how much the roll-out is costing Wendy’s, but he said the company is putting “significant amount of weight” behind marketing it. Wendy’s recently announced it’s spending an additional $10 million to advertise its burgeoning breakfast menu. 
new Original Article By: Jordan Valinsky
Rising Dough
Why is Wendy’s changing their french fries? What is involved in making this change happen? What will it take to be competitive in the french fry fast-food market?
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I think Wendy’s are changing their fries because people probably are complying how they don’t taste the same how they used to back then or they just want to have a new advertisement so they can make more money it will probably take more than one advertisement to have people to pay attention to Wendy’s more
I think this is a good idea for Wendy’s they mentioned that As drive-thru and delivery sales increased over the past year, cold, soggy fries have become a pain point for customers.
Wendy’s is making there French fries better and more delicious. I know a lot of people that think Wendy’s food is good but they don’t like the French fries. Wendy’s needs to think of a way to add more flavor in their fries. Shape of the fries is also a important thing. I personally don’t like fries that have and other shape that’s not straight no matter how good the taste might be. In order to be competitive they need to make similar fries to the fast food restaurants and that are giving out amazing fries.
if this is a good idea for wendy so it doesn’t hurt people’s teeth and it’s better and healthy and it’s good.
This is a great idea for Wendy’s. There fries are very inconsistent. They have all the fries with no salt on the top then there’s one ridiculously salty fry at the bottom. Also they have a weird texture for their fries so they need this redo.
I think that Wendy’s changing there fries because they might need a new look in their fast food chain. I don’t think they would taste any different from what they taste like now so they wouldn’t be in competition with the top fries from fast foods chain.
This is great because it shows that Wendy’s care about there customers. Usually when you complain the company doesn’t listen but this time they did. They adapted to deliver which unless you had it before pandemic nobody had it. I think this would put them ways ahead the regular competition.
Wendy’s is changing there fries because they think it may bring in more customers. The advertising the new fryers the teaching new tech. Its gonna take alot of time.
i think that it is a good thing that Wendy’s is changing their fries and upping them because they are listening to all their customers complains. sometimes its good to change up your fries because you can see if it helps your company because it will bring more people in because they will want to come and try iyt.
i think wendy changing their fries beacuse maybe people tired of seeing the same thing so they switching it up.
Wendys is changing there french friends apparently because of the “Covid era”, And probably because they want customers to buy it do they can try it. Also they may have change it because customers may think Wendys fries aren’t as good anymore. And if this comes out successful, then the other french fries in fast food will have to do something to upgrade their fries as well.
I figure this is is a good investment for the future because Wendy’s has never been known for the there fry’s. But it is bad to because it is going to cost a LOT of money for them to change fry’s in every single Wendy’s in America.
I think this is good because they’re listening to the input of their customers which could bring more business. Only downfall is that it may cost a lot of money to switch it up.
Wendy’s is changing their fries to be better quality and retain more heat the reason is because ever since the pandemic people be going through the drive through increasingly which is why they are making their fries better so that they can keep giving excellent quality fries for the people. The first thing u need in the fast food industry is good food as long as u have tasty food you can make anything out of your business..
Wendy’s fries are changing because of the pandemic. With this change, they will be able to hold heat in themselves for longer, because of Ubers. To be competitive, you have to have a generally good tasting fry, or give allot if fries. Thats the only 2 things that it can make your fries competitive the big fast food places.
Why is Wendy’s changing their french fries?
To help with the sogginess of fries.
What is involved in making this change happen?
new and experimental ways to make their fries.
What will it take to be competitive in the french fry fast-food market?
To come up with different varieties sizes and combinations.
I think that Wendy’s felt like they needed a new change to get some new publicity so making the new fries is a good idea but it will only work if they actually taste any better than the old ones. I also think that they make sure they advertise the new fries correctly like the rest of the fast food chains have been doing by collaborating with artist for example McDonalds and Travis Scott.
I think it is a terrible idea because they are putting preservatives inside the food to make it last longer and that can hurt the consumer. Its meant to bring in more customers and maintain better food at a higher quality. It could be competitive and it could be making a lot of money but i dont think its good for the environment at all and think it will harm alot of customers. They would to be putting something in the fries to make them physically last longer.
Customer complaints are the main reason why Wendy’s probably changed their fries and to get customers coming to their locations
It is a good idea for Wendy’s to change their French Fry’s so people that didn’t like the original will see if they actually are better, Wendy’s will make more money and gain new customers.
Wendy’s changing their French Fry’s so people that didn’t like the original will see if they actually are better, Wendy’s will make more money and gain new customers.
I feel that Wendy’s is changing their fries to better customer satisfaction. I’ and a lot of other people think that Wendy’s food is good, but the fries are subpar. Doing this will result in more fry sales and hopefully more customers.
Wendys is making changes to improve sales and overall satisfaction. many people will not like the old fries because of the change causing other companies to change aswell.
I think this is good for Wendy’s and think this is beneficial to them because it will make people like their fries even more because a lot of people already like their fries this will give them an extra edge above the competition helping them achieve that high ideal fry status
I think Wendy’s changing its fries is good because more people will start going there to try their new fries and maybe try out their meals while they’re at it.
Wendy’s are changing their french fries because they want to satisfy the customer that do drive thru and have their fries not be soggy. They made a new recipe increasing the crispiness of the fry and helping it retain heat, they also bought new fryers for all their restaurants to help with the new fries. Keep the same drive they have been having and trying boosting the flavor.
This change is a could be a huge deal maker or a deal breaker to their clientele. If Wendy’s change their technique on making their fries to become more crispier, What could probably make it a deal breaker is they probably do the McDonald’s route and end up making their fries either 400° hot and/or after 10-15 mins become inedible without knowing. Still crispier but inedible. On the other hand Wendy’s fries can be a deal maker by bring back and/or adding to their clientele by MAKING THEIR FRIES CORRECTLY and putting the right amount of everything so it not too much but no enough.
Why is Wendy’s changing their french fries? What is involved in making this change happen? What will it take to be competitive in the french fry fast-food market?
Wendy’s is changing their fries because the currents ones isn’t good enough. They are making their fries stay crispy and hot for a longer time.
Wendy’s is changing their fries in order keep them fresh as they are ordered.
I believe Wendy’s changed their fries because people are complaining about the fries. Their fries sales are going down because of the low quality of the fries. It would take Wendy’s to season their fries and add a good amount salt to get sales back up.
I think Wendy’s is changing their fries because people aren’t liking the quality of the fries anymore. People probably haven’t been buying fries as much as they where before so they need to switch things up. Without good fries are you really considered a good fast food place. I don’t think so Which means they are switching things up so they aren’t loosing money.
I believe that wendy is changing their french fries because they have gotten so much negative feedback that they are almost forced to change them in some way which will involve them having to maybe change the recipe change the cooking process and many other things and it will take lots of positive feedback to be a high standing competitor in the french fry market
Wendy’s has decided to change their fries because they’ve probably heard about the amount of people that don’t like their fries and wanted to change that. They were able to change their fries a little bit making it crispier less soggy and just the right amount of cooking. I think if they do this correctly they will definitely be in the fry game and in competition with other fast food fries.
Wendy’s is changing their fries so they can last and taste better, no matter how you get them. The new fries are being developed in part because of advances made to Wendy’s batter system, as well as a new way to cut the fries that allows them to remain fresh and crispy for longer. I think for a lot of consumers, the crunch and taste of fry are important, and that’s why places like McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A have universally loved fries. If Wendy’s wants to stay competitive, they’ll need to create a french fry order that stays fresh, crunchy, and is iconic to the brand. Each brand has like their own little thing, and I’m excited to see what spin Wendy’s has put on these fries that will make them stand out.
I think this is a good idea for wendys to maybe pull in some more customers but at the same time it will be a bit costly to get it done at first . This will definitely give them better reviews and sales if the first tastes are true .
Wendy’s changing the fries could be a very good move for the company. Over the years the quality of their french fries has gone down and by changing the fries they could come out a much better quality, bringing in more money.
I think this is a good idea because it will attract people yo buy these fries more and enjoy them but the only issue is they might not sell much because of the appearance staying basically the same so people won’t really tell they changed it.
Wendy’s is changing their french fries because its fries were cold and soggy, so they are making a fry that retains more heat and keeps its crispiness longer compared to the old ones. To make this happen, Wendy’s is balancing the cut of the fry and keep some potato skin to drive its flavor, they are also using a new batter system. If others want to be conpetitive in the french fry fast-food market is to upgrade their fries and maybe the way they make them.
Wendy’s is changing their French fries to be better so more people buy and since more people are doing take out fries would be better if they stayed crispier for longer. They are balancing the cut of their fries and making them more crisp. To compete against other fast foods they need to really improve their fries in many ways, as me personally they aren’t that great.
Wendy’s is changing their French fries to be better so more people buy and since more people are doing take out fries would be better if they stayed crispier for longer. Over the years the quality of their French fries has gone down and by changing the fries they could come out a much better quality.
I think Wendy’s are changing their fries because they just don’t taste the same and they probably have a not as good taste as the other fast food restaurants. Something that I think is involved is so they can get more sales and make more money.
Wendy’s is changing their fries to bring attention and new costumers to their restaurants. This changes will make Wendy’s to spend millions of dollars on advertisements but also in the new way to make the fries, but this new fries will compete against the most popular restaurants like McDonald’s or Burger King.
I think that it is good that they are changing up there fries, they are probably just listening to there customers complaints and rally want to make things better. Also it will bring it a lot of new people who was try them out and give it a shot
Wendy’s changing the fries will improve the quality of the fries and improve sales
Wendy’s are changing there fries because people probably been saying how they don’t like there fries and complaining or there changing there fries for more money.
Wendy’s is changing their fries because they value personal feedback from their customers to improve their products and remain having a positive customer relationship in the fast-food industry. With the issue of the pandemic still occurring, at times my family and I order sometimes fast food places like Wendy’s, McDonald’s, etc., and due to the time estimation of the orders arriving home, the food at times does not come to our satisfaction and it ruins the reputation of the restaurant. With the evolution of diseases and viruses, as well as customers developing higher expectations for food companies, they are making these adjustments. Flavor improvement, faster food production, knowing the finances for a successful victory in competition, and knowing the location where you will attract more customers will help them win in the market.
Why is Wendy’s changing their french fries? What is involved in making this change happen? What will it take to be competitive in the french fry fast-food market?
Wendy is changing their fries to make gain more profit and bring more various audiences.They will have to bring a new type of fries that not only sound but are good and not plain and unoriginal.Bringing in a new twist even if it’s just a new type of seasoning will give Wendy’s what they need to be apart of the competitive fast food market.
They are balancing the cut of their fries and making them more crisp. To compete against other fast foods they need to really improve their fries in many ways, as me personally they aren’t that great.
I think Wendy’s is changing their fries so they can be creative and bring in new customers to try their new fries.what is involved in making this change is their new recipe to make the fries.It will take for you fries to be delicious and made different to be competitive in the FrenchFry fast-food market
Wendy’s is improving its fries. Many people think that Wendy’s food is good, but they don’t like French fries as the shape of the fries is also important. To be competitive, they need to make French fries like other fast food restaurants.
I think Wendy’s is improving its frie. Many people think that Wendy’s food is good, but they don’t like French fries as the shape of the fries is also important, To be competitive and they need to make French fries like other fast food restaurants to be equal.
I think they are changing the fries because if the new ones are better the get a bigger profit off of it and it boosts the liking of Wendy’s. The thing that is Involved is the way how they changed it before and people liked it so changing it again will probably bring more people. It will take a lot of customers to say the French fries are good.
It could be competitive and it could be making a lot of money but i dont think its good for the environment at all and think it will harm alot of customers. They would to be putting something in the fries to make them physically last longer.
sometimes its good to change up your fries because you can see if it helps your company because it will bring more people in because they will want to come and try iyt.
There changing there fries to compete with other fast food places and outsell them and since they are new people would want to try them
Wendys changing their French fries means they have a better chance at increasing sales against competitors. The reason they would do this is to profit more than their competition and stay in good business.
This will encourage any agitated customers to return spending their money at wendys. These fries would give wendys a better look and reputation.
I think this is a great idea for Wendy’s because since their sales have increased over the past year soggy fries can stray customers away but with these new fries they can compete with competitors
I think that Wendy’s is changing their french fries in order to align with the things that consumers want, such as a new design and a better flavour.