DUBLIN Ohio Wendy’s has pulled its Frescata line of deli sandwiches, a product that had been cited by franchisor Wendy’s International Inc. as an important element of the chain’s turnaround effort.
The premium-priced sandwiches were served on rolls that were delivered partially baked to units and completed in the stores, which allowed Wendy’s to tout the sandwiches’ fresh-baked bread. The recipe had been developed in part by Los Angeles’ famed La Brea Bakery.
"Customers are loving the new Frescata line and this is being reflected in our bottom line," Ian Rowden, then Wendy's chief marketing officer, said in a company statement when an Italian version was added to the line in August 2006. Rowden, who was also an executive vice president, has since resigned from the company.
In May 2006, Wendy’s reported its first monthly positive same-store sales result in 14 months and cited sales of the then-new Frescata line as the main driver.
“Frescata played an important strategic role for us,” Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini said in an e-mail in response Tuesday to queries by Nation’s Restaurant News. “It helped us kick-start our renewed focus on product innovation. It bought back lapsed users and also attracted new customers.”
But, he added: “Every product has a life cycle. We tested removal in specific test markets and the time is now right to make the change. Frescata appealed primarily to women. We, of course, have our Garden Sensations salad lineup and other products that hit this same, somewhat older, female audience.”
Bertini added that “we’re also planning additional menu options in 2008” and that “we continue to focus on our core hamburger business.”
The Frescata sandwiches, which were removed from Wendy's menu by late last month, were rolled out systemwide in April 2006 at a suggested retail price of $3.49 each, or $4.99 if ordered as part of a combo meal. The line initially consisted of the Frescata Club, Roasted Turkey and Swiss and Black Forest Ham and Swiss. The Italiana and chicken salad sandwiches were later introduced.
The line’s discontinuation was not mentioned by Wendy’s when the company announced its year-end and fourth-quarter results last week. Wendy’s stock price dropped to a 52-week low on Friday after the quick-service operator and franchisor posted its first quarterly drop in more than a year in corporate same-store sales. Same-store sales at company-owned domestic restaurants fell 0.8 percent for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30, Wendy’s said at the time. That compares with an increase of 3.1 percent for the year-earlier fourth quarter.
At least one website features a petition for customers to “sign” in the hope that Wendy’s can be convinced to reinstate the Frescata line.