Wendy's Launches Famous Burger Patties in Grocery Stores—But Fans Have Questions
I reached out to Wendy's Corporate for verification and yes, it's true. Wendy's has just released new all-beef patties in select Kroger (and King Soopers—also owned by Krogers) stores in just two cities in the U.S., and they are keeping everything else pretty hush hush.
When I asked for more details, a spokesperson offered a canned response about the Dave Thomas empire 'pursuing opportunities to bring (their) fresh, famous food to customers in new and exciting ways.' That might also be alluding to the fact that the brand rolled out their chili in stores sometime last year.
Related:
@snackolater actually reviewed that last year, though, and said it wasn't exactly comparable to their in-store chili. Could that mean the same goes for the in-store burgers?
As of now, the only real information I can offer is that the patties are being sold in 1 pound four-packs and are only available in Columbus, OH and Denver, CO. Also, it's important to note that Wendy's has long prided itself on using 'fresh, never frozen' beef for its burgers, and the in-store burgers are also technically fresh, as you can see from @juicyhoneycc's TikTok below.
The same person also made a different TikTok where she showed followers how she bought and prepared the patty herself. Curious folks in the comments have since asked her to offer more insight ('How do they taste?' asked one, 'What you rate them 0/10 ⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️' asked another), but so far they haven't replied. It's a missed opportunity given that no one's actually sharing what they think of these so far.
Up Next:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fast Company
40 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Parents are rushing to do their back-to-school shopping this year as potential tariff price hikes loom
Back-to-school season is officially upon us, and with it comes the usual influx of ad campaigns and last-minute trips to Target. This year, though, some parents are sensing a shift—and they're sharing how back-to-school shopping is starting to feel untenably expensive. On TikTok, several creators have voiced their concerns that back-to-school prices are becoming shockingly high this year, with some creators finding a pack of pencils for as much as $21 and Post-its for $19. These reports come after the Trump administration's second major round of tariffs on more than 60 countries came into effect on August 7. Now, parents are rushing to get their shopping done earlier than ever as potential price hikes loom. Parents report rising back-to-school prices According to a July report from the National Retail Federation (NRF), two-thirds of back-to-school shoppers had already begun purchasing items for the upcoming school year as of early July—the earliest start on the NRF's record. The NRF expects the average household to spend just under $860 on back-to-school shopping for K-12 students. 'Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials,' Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights, noted in the report. Indeed, school supplies are one of the categories that experts expect to be hit the hardest by tariff-related price jumps. In an analysis published on August 5, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce examined Census Bureau data for May and June of this year and compared it to the same months last year, aiming to identify which product categories are bearing the brunt of tariff-based tax increases so far. It found that, over the past year, tariff rates on typical back-to-school items like pens, pencils, and folders jumped from an average rate of 5% to 18%, while tariff rates on clothing and shoes have jumped from 14% to over 25%. 'While much of this burden has been shouldered by wholesalers and manufacturers, the months ahead will see a larger share of these costs passed on to consumers,' the report's author, Neil Bradley, wrote. 'Americans are paying the tariffs, but not all these costs are being passed onto consumers—at least, not yet.' Customers are taking to TikTok to express fears that big-box retailers might be actively raising prices on back-to-school related items. Several creators have specifically noted discrepancies between tag prices and display prices on clothing items at Walmart or tags with no prices altogether, with some speculating that tariff-related price hikes could be to blame. For Walmart's part, the company clarified in a statement to Fast Company that, when shopping for apparel, the price posted at the top of the rack is the highest price of any item on the rack, and that this system is nothing new for the company. Per a press release, Walmart is offering 14 of the most common school supplies for lower prices this year than last year. Tariff fears compound general financial anxiety Parents are feeling the back-to-school sticker shock this year, as concerns around potential impending tariff hikes are also compounded by a more general sense of financial stress. Based on the June Consumer Price Index report —a metric that measures overall cost of living in the U.S.—inflation rose by 0.3% across the board in June, the highest monthly reading since January. Another July study from Credit Karma found that 39% of surveyed parents reported that they were unable to afford back-to-school shopping this year (up from 31% in 2024), with 44% planning to take on debt as a result. 'I feel as if [prices] keep going up, $125 is insane on just supplies,' one TikTok user captioned her Walmart back-to-school haul. 'Tell me why colored pencils are now 97 cents and no longer a quarter?' another user added in a storytime on her shopping experience this year. 'I felt like I was about to pass out—not from the heat, but from these prices.'
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
5 Strategies To Boost Visibility As Creators And Entrepreneurs In 2025
As the creator economy expands, some women of color are using their visibility and unique points of view to build businesses and create a more positive financial future. What started as a space for a few early adopters has become a driving force in entrepreneurship, where storytelling, perspective, and lived experience can be turned into income streams and ownership. In a projected industry of $480 billion by 2027, where women of color are still underrepresented among the top earners, learning about their stories and strategies they have used and worked to position themselves is important for those aspiring to follow that path. The following stories highlight how they've done it and the single most important tactic each stands behind. Iza Montalvo: Advocating For Thought Leadership Iza Montalvo, a communications strategist with a background in media and journalism, saw both an urgent opportunity and a solution to the challenge of owning her narrative and building community as the economic and political landscape shifted. In March 2024, she turned her focus to LinkedIn, starting with just over 800 followers. By mid-2025, she had grown her audience to more than 60,000, composed largely of key decision-makers, brands, and C-suite professionals. For Montalvo, creating a space where people could lean into their own voices to stand out as professionals was essential. She committed to learning the platform in depth and building connections with leaders seeking insight and perspective. "I became obsessed with the platform," she said. "I started identifying who was making noise, who was really building audiences that were engaged, and then I started learning from them." She treated content creation as a process of experimentation, an approach she called "posting like a content scientist." From studying top-performing posts to engaging with audiences daily, Montalvo engineered a presence that now drives inbound consulting leads, partnerships, and thought leadership opportunities. "When you're in control of your personal brand, you're in control of your future," she said. "It's your first line of defense." Strategy to boost visibility: According to Montalvo, studying top creators, reverse-engineering platform trends, and consistently engaging with your audience with high-value, insight-rich content designed to position you as a trusted voice is the strategy that has consistently driven the most return on investment for her business. Roxanna Couse: Bridging Corporate And Creator Community Roxanna Couse, a fractional marketing leader and personal brand advocate, was furloughed from her corporate role in April 2020 and decided to turn the moment into an experiment in visibility. She opened an Instagram account to share home décor content, but the real inflection point came two years later on TikTok. An authentic "homebody" vlog took her from nearly zero to 10,000 followers in under a week. By continuing the series with morning routines and showcasing 'no-regret purchase videos, she doubled that audience within weeks. However, it was not until early 2023 that her first brand deal came to be, with a $125 per post across three videos, proving that her model was working. By year's end, she had earned about $15,000 from content and grown her TikTok audience to more than 70,000 followers. Yet the breakout platform became Instagram. By simply repurposing her best TikToks, Couse jumped from roughly 2,000 followers to more than 270,000 in 2024-2025. In parallel, she leaned into LinkedIn thought leadership, crossing 10,000 followers by sharing the relatable reality of a millennial manager and B2B marketer. Couse's cadence is deliberately light on bureaucracy, shortening the gap between idea and publication, then iterating quickly. As a Black woman in corporate, she speaks directly to Black corporate millennials, even when it draws backlash, because the specificity builds genuine community. Treating content as a business, she signed with management to unlock higher-value, multi-platform brand deals, all while maintaining a fractional corporate role. "Being afraid a few people will see you is nothing compared to the opportunities when you decide to just go for it," she said. Strategy to boost visibility: Repurpose what already works across platforms, publish fast (then refine), and lead with identity. Package deliverables for multi-platform deals (IG + TikTok + LinkedIn) so each post multiplies your brand value. Sina Port: Guiding Entrepreneurs To Lead With Their Story Sina Port rebuilt her personal brand from scratch and built a story-centered business. After converting to Islam, Port deleted her entire online presence, including prior work and her digital identity. "Google didn't even know my name," she recalled. With no followers, no connections, and no visibility, Port had to build a presence again, but this time she wanted to do it intentionally; "You can only be successful if people know you," she said. Before entering entrepreneurship, Port worked in global branding roles for major corporations, including Adidas. Her early thought leadership, specifically a podcast with just seven views, caught the attention of an Adidas manager and led to her recruitment. "It wasn't about the numbers, it was about who saw me," she explained. That experience confirmed her belief that strategic visibility could lead directly to high-value opportunities. Leveraging that insight, Port launched her own business teaching women to build what she calls a "feminine business," a model prioritizing purpose, aligned storytelling, and premium client relationships over overworking. Her approach centers on solving problems through lived experience, positioning personal stories as both brand assets and revenue drivers. "I asked myself: why am I doing this for big brands, when I can use the same skills to build something for myself and help people directly?" Strategy to boost visibility: According to Port, telling your story consistently and understanding why people are engaging with your content is the way to "attract aligned" premium clients. Focusing on value and transformation rather than virality is part of the strategy she stands behind. Kar Brulhart: Building A Intentional Social Media Presence Kar Brulhart, a social media strategist and educator, launched her brand at the end of 2020 with a focus on 1:1 services. In less than 10 months, she had crossed six figures in revenue and grown her Instagram following from zero to 34,000 followers. Brulhart started to build her brand by mastering Instagram Reels during their peak reach, and when growth steadied, she expanded her revenue streams with programs, courses, and memberships. Brulhart built the business while working 8 to 12-hour days, often through weekends, until she scaled her support system by hiring a VA, bringing on a housekeeper, and setting shared home logistics with her husband. For Brulhart, visibility was never just about follower counts. The engine behind her growth was treating Instagram and email marketing as non-negotiables: publishing daily, nurturing her list weekly, and backing it up monthly. She kept momentum without chasing virality by stacking partnerships, guest podcast appearances, and in-person events, always pitching with a specific angle so collaborators saw immediate value. "Don't wait to be 'fixed.' Build while you work on yourself," she said, emphasizing that success means time freedom and designing a business that does not rely on the next algorithm spike. Strategy to boost visibility: Pair daily Instagram publishing with an owned email engine and a collaboration pipeline. Lead with a specific pitch, set firm boundaries, and design recurring-revenue offers so visibility turns into predictable income. Ana Flores: Growing A Movement - Without Outside Investors Ana Flores, a serial entrepreneur, launched Latina Bloggers Connect in 2010 amid the recession and while raising her two-year-old daughter. Her concept was simple: a Google Form inviting Latina bloggers to connect with brands. Within six months, she had hired two contractors and was running campaigns for multinational brands like Neutrogena and Clorox. Flores' credibility came from SpanglishBaby, the bilingual parenting blog she co-founded in 2009, which had already drawn brand interest. When a PR team sent her a poorly targeted pitch, she responded with guidance; their follow-up was, "Can we pay you to consult?" That experience crystallized the demand for a formal bridge between Latina creators and major brands. As influencer marketing became more transactional; Flores listened to her community and pivoted. In 2015, she launched the We All Grow Summit, creating a space built by and for Latinas, and later expanded it to include founders using Instagram and e-commerce to sell directly. Guided by the mantra "when one grows, we all grow," the summit became a platform for partnerships and visibility, especially for women who were the first in their families to build businesses. She refused venture capital to protect her freedom to pivot based on values, later scaling her team down after rapid pandemic growth, and securing trademarks, insurance, and strong contracts to protect the brand. "Build the business that honors your life and protect it like an asset," she states. Now, after transitioning from her role as CEO of #WeAllGrowLatina, Flores is preparing for the release of her debut book, Done With The Hustle, which shares her philosophy on building a business that honors both life and legacy. Strategy to boost visibility: Flores leans strongly into listening to your community to then build the container they need (marketplaces, summits, programs) has been a key strategy. Grow via revenue, not hype; choose financing that fits your model; and lock down your IP so visibility compounds into long-term the creator economy continues to grow at record speed, these women's stories spotlight the strategies that have helped them to use the opportunity of the industry to create a financially secure future. From repurposing content across platforms to cultivating niche communities and leveraging lived experience into premium opportunities, each has found a way to build their businesses by leveraging their stories, visibility and points of view. Closing that gap will require more than individual success stories; it will need ensuring that the pathways they have forged become more accessible, visible, and sustainable for the next wave of creators ready to design their careers differently.
Business Insider
6 hours ago
- Business Insider
Wendy's AI guru joins Presto — and he's betting drive-thrus may never be the same
If you ask Michael Chorey, " Can AI take your order?" The answer is a resounding "yes." The founder and chief inventor of Wendy's FreshAI has departed from the burger chain and joined AI automation provider Presto as cofounder and president of its new division, Presto IQ. Over the last three years, Chorey helped Wendy's build an AI that he says can take customer orders faster and more efficiently than a worker wearing a headset. Now, he's betting the same tech will reshape the entire fast-food industry, one drive-thru at a time. The move marks a major shift for Chorey, who's stepping out of the corporate kitchen and into the broader world of tech providers with a plan to personalize — and partially automate — interactions between restaurants, their workers, and their customers. It's also a signal that the fast-food segment is rethinking its approach to AI. "This unlocks the future of what hospitality means, starting in the drive-thru," Chorey told Business Insider. Chorey spent three of his five years at Wendy's working to bring FreshAI to life. By the time he left the company in early August, he said the chain, which started testing the AI voice assistant in 2023, had implemented AI ordering at 300 drive-thru sites and planned to roll out the tech at as many as 600 locations by year's end. Representatives for Wendy's did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Business Insider previously reported that Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner told investors in February that the FreshAI system, created with Google Cloud,"gives customers the opportunity to build their orders." Despite early customer concerns about ease of use and accuracy, Tanner said he personally tests the technology a few times a week at a Wendy's location near the company's headquarters, adding that FreshAI "understands what to ask for, and the accuracy definitely is improving." The AI rollout race at a drive-thru near you Wendy's isn't the only chain that has rolled out AI-powered ordering assistants in recent years, but it is among the furthest along in implementing the technology. In 2021, McDonald's began testing an AI ordering system it created in collaboration with IBM, but rolled it back after videos showing flaws in the tech went viral in 2023, and ended the program in June 2024, Business Insider previously reported. In March, The Wall Street Journal reported McDonald's had struck a new deal, this time with Google, to revisit how to integrate AI across its global portfolio. Yum Brands, the parent company of chains including KFC and Pizza Hut, announced last July that it would expand the use of its AI-powered drive-thru assistant to hundreds of Taco Bell locations by year's end, in addition to five KFC locations in Australia, Business Insider reported. Presto's technology is already being tested at major chains like Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, both owned by CKE Restaurants, as well as Wienerschnitzel and Yoshinoya. Representatives for the chains did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. Automated service with a smile Chorey said the main benefit — and challenge — of his work with Presto is expanding the technology to work seamlessly for each of the different brands and their customers. "If you listen to orders during lunchtime versus orders in the middle of the day, the way the human crew members talk to the customer changes, the way customers talk to the human crew member changes, and that changes even more with each brand," Chorey said. "Effective AI platforms are able to adapt, just like our human crew members, to create a very consistent experience, every time you come to a restaurant." As AI becomes more mainstream in the fast food sector, the Presto team knows the tech will disrupt the workers on the other end of the drive-thru box. Krishna Gupta, the cofounder and co-CEO of Presto, told Business Insider he expects there to be no human operators taking orders at drive-thrus within the next three years. Still, he added, "nobody wakes up in the morning and says, 'I want to take orders all day.'" "So now you can go to that person and say, instead of doing that monotonous, repetitive, boring work, you can actually create the food and make orders and serve people with a smile," Gupta said. "And that's my hope for AI tech broadly, is that it enables all of humanity to do that, and serve the higher purpose of our lives." For the brands considering implementing the technology, Gupta and Chorey said it's less a matter of "if" and more a matter of "when" they need to get on board, given the continuously evolving needs of the dining industry. " Fast food is fast, and it's only going to get faster — this is a very competitive landscape," Chorey said. "Brands need to be able to make decisions quickly; they need to be able to adapt on the fly, whether it's an operator at the restaurant or leadership within a broader brand, and these voice AI agents give them that ability." The drive-thru lanes were just the beginning. With AI agents already capable of upselling your order of french fries, the next evolution of fast food is smart, scalable — and increasingly inhuman.
