Well… It’s the middle of January and we’re over the holidays. At least, the Fast Food World is. No, that’s not exactly right. Some players are already looking forward to Valentine’s Day. No rest for the heavily promoted! And of course, there’s the usual raft of limited time specials…
Arby’s new Diablo Sandwiches: So hot you get a complimentary ‘extingui-shake’.
Arby’s new ‘Diablo Dare’ is SOOOOO hot…
… It comes with a free vanilla shake to put out the fire. The Sandwich is available on a base of either smoked brisket or chicken, and incorporates no fewer than 5 sources of heat: ghost pepper jack cheese, fiery hot seasoning, fire-roasted jalapeños and Diablo BBQ sauce PLUS a toasted red chipotle pepper ‘Diablo’ bun. It’s available or a limited time at participating Arby’s locations.
McDonalds reprises ‘2 for $6’ deals
In the Fast Food world, all good things come to an end – then come back again a few months or a year later. So it is with McD’s mix-and-match ‘2 for $6’ deals.
Choose any two of: a Big Mac; a Quarter Pounder with Cheese; a 10 piece Chicken McNuggets; or a Filet-O-Fish Sandwich. At participating locations across the U.S.
Pizza Hut Canada adds plant-based ‘Sausage’
The Hut tested Beyond Meat’s plant-based Sausage replacement last year and the results must have been impressive. Beyond Italian Sausage Crumbles is being added to the Great Beyond Pizza; Beyond Italian Sausage Alfredo Loaded Flatbread; and Beyond Creamy Alfredo as a permanent menu option.
Burger King tests new breakfast sammys…
Fast Food players are always trying to elevate their profiles above the competition by trying new ingredient combos and presentations. Now, BK is test marketing breakfast sandwiches on round toast slices rather than the usual English Muffins or Biscuits.
mmm
Toasted Breakfast Sandwiches come in three versions: Ham & Cheese; Cheese Sausage & Egg; and Crispy Chicken. You can try ’em if you choose the right BK outlet in Buffalo NY, for a very limited time, only.
… New Whopper Melts, too
Three new Whopper Melts are premiering – for a very limited time – on Toledo, OH. And they, too, feature that new round-slice bread instead of the usual buns. The Whopper Melt starts with 2 Whopper Jr. Patties, adds American (Processed) cheese, and tops off with caramelized onions and Stacker Sauce. The Spicy Whopper Melt also has 2 Whopper Jr. Patties and American cheese, but adds jalapenos, caramelized onions and a creamy spicy sauce. The Bacon Whopper Melt is pretty much the basic Whopper Melt with bacon added.
Dunkin’s goes Dutch
… With new Stroopwaffle doughnuts. They’re chocolate Frosted sinkers topped with a little Stroo0pwaffle cookie: two layers of wafer with caramel in between (see photo, top of page). Other new Dunkin’s menu items for early ’22 include Omelet Bites, Chive & Onion Stuffed Bagel Minis, and a Brown Sugar Oat Iced Latte.
Goldfish Crackers making it big
Legendary Goldfish are launching new ‘big and crispy’ Mega Bites snack crackers in Sharp Cheddar and Cheddar Jalapeño flavours. I guess they were looking for some way to make their product ‘new’ and ‘improved.
Alas, even legends have to try harder to maintain market share these days – which brings us to…
Kit Kat reveals new concepts
Always trying to come up with something new, Kit Kat is floating two new concepts this month: Kit Kat Duos (enrobed with Chocolate on the bottom and Strawberry on the top) and Kit Kat THiNS (just 2 wafers in the middle instead of three) in Chocolate Hazelnut flavour. I guess they might have gotten the ‘THiNS’ idea from OREO, who’ve been selling a thin version of their legendary filled chocolate wafer cookie for some time now. The only advantage I can see to ‘thins’ is to the manufacturer: they cost less per cookie to make.
And speaking of OREOs…
OREO celebrates its 110th birthday with a special variant on its iconic Original cookie: Two standard chocolate wafers bracketing both chocolate and confetti-candy vanilla cream layers, with more sprinkles on top of the cookie.
They call it the ‘110th Birthday Chocolate Confetti Cake’ version. Find out more at OREO.com, and cue yourself up for the pan-continental release January 31.
Novelty Alert! Duncan Hines Valentine Cookie Kit
The cake mix icon is offering what it calls an EPIC Valentine’s Cookie Kit with Chocolate Cookie mix, frosting and heart-shaped sprinkles. The cookies are the chewy, cakey kind. The frosting can go on top or in the middle, between two cookies. A great idea to get the kids involved. Or, you can whip up a batch of your own fave chocolate cookies and butter cream, and get the kids to handle assembly…
Novelty Alert! ‘Say it with Pickles’
Grillo’s Pickles has come up with a cute way of saying, “Love means taking the sour with the sweet.” It’s a Pickle Bouquet for your Valentine. Actually, it’s a bouquet kit that you have to assemble. Unless your sweetie is accustomed to receiving Valentine’s Day gifts with ‘some assembly required’.
The kit includes: “15 wooden skewers, a card and card holder, tissue paper and filler, custom Valentine’s Day label for a 32 oz. Grillo’s container, a ‘free jar’ coupon, and more.” Available at Grillos website starting January 18, along with lots more pickle-themed merchandise..
And that’s the skinny…
… On what’s going to be making some of us a little fatter over the coming days and weeks (or more popular on Valentine’s Day). See you back here in 7 for the next edition of Fast Food Week!
~ Maggie J.