The Wendy's Company

04/16/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/16/2021 09:13

Wendy’s Thinks Differently to Unlock Global Growth

Wendy's Is On Its Way to 8,000 Global Restaurants By 2025

For more than 50 years, Wendy's® has been an established name in the quick service restaurant industry. Many people identify the brand by our iconic square hamburgers or famous Twitter presence, but did you know that Wendy's is the one of the largest global quick service restaurant brands in the world?

Our vision is to become the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand, and we're well on our way. Today, we have a global geographic footprint of more than 6,800 restaurants in countries and territories across the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and soon to be in Europe (hopefully you are following Wendy's highly anticipated launch in the United Kingdom this year!). Additionally, we are projecting to open about 250 new restaurants in 2021 and grow our footprint to about 7,000 restaurants globally by the end of this year.

So, how exactly do we plan to meet these accelerated growth goals? Last year taught us that while we cannot predict what tomorrow will bring, we can proactively design for our future. As we emerge from the global pandemic, we must continue to find creative and convenient ways for consumers to access our brand.

For example, we are re-thinking our operating model and keeping our finger on the pulse of innovative restaurant designs, giving customers more access to our delicious, great-tasting, high-quality food anytime, anyplace, anywhere. We are also building scale by combining traditional, brick-and-mortar restaurant development with other non-traditional venues, such as drive-thru only platforms, curbside pick-up, mobile ordering and dark kitchens, to name a few.

Read on to see how we are thinking differently and being opportunistic to unlock global growth and expand Wendy's brand presence in markets around the world!

Building Scale with Dark Kitchens

Dark Kitchens. Ghost Kitchens. Cloud Kitchens. You've more than likely heard these buzz words, but what do they mean? At Wendy's, we use the term 'dark kitchen', which is a restaurant that caters to one of the fastest growing sectors of the market: delivery. These delivery-only restaurants come in various shapes and sizes and provide a low-cost alternative to reach customers in urban markets.

Canada

Last November, Wendy's Restaurants of Canada announced the brand's move into the growing dark kitchen space through a partnership with REEF's Neighborhood Kitchens in Toronto. This move was the first of several to come, as dark kitchens are an important component of our non-traditional growth strategy. As we explore new avenues and formats to reach customers, REEF's proximity-based network of delivery-only Neighborhood Kitchens enables us to test a new format in dense downtown areas and address the evolving needs of today's urban Canadian consumers. As of late March this year, our Wendy's Canada team has opened five Neighborhood Kitchens across Toronto, Ontario.