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Taco Bell calls its late-night snack menu “Fourthmeal,” but “fifth meal” might be more accurate: A new study from The NPD Group concludes that one of every five eating occasions in the U.S. is snack occasion. Further, while evening snacks are the most common, it’s morning snacking that is on the rise, now exceeding the [...]

KFC is fighting back against burger chains’ continuing encroachment into its chicken territory. This week the chicken-category leader introduces KFC Original Recipe Bites, an answer to McDonald’s addition of Chicken McBites in January (and the Spicy Chicken McBites currently being promoted) and a shot across the bow of burger chains, warning that it intends to [...]

Burger King hopes to grab a bigger share of the growing chicken-snack category with the introductions of Chicken Strips and Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps. Crispy Chicken Snack Wraps, available with Honey Mustard or Ranch sauce, are now moving into selected markets. They will be included on Burger King’s expanded $1 Value Menu where all items [...]

The arrivals of Dave’s Hot ‘n Juicy Cheeseburgers from Wendy’s and new Steakhouse burgers from Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. are likely to be brief respites from the steady string of chicken introductions that preceded them. For example, Wendy’s previously announced it plans to launch an upgraded line of “Gold” chicken sandwiches—including the Bruschetta Chicken sandwich— [...]

◙ Wendy’s/Arby’s Corp. executives have labeled 2011 “a transition year” as they “explore strategic alternatives” for Arby’s (i.e. try to find a buyer for it). But it’s clear the big picture includes continuing to revamp the Wendy’s menu with new wraps, burgers, chicken and more. The Fresh Wraps line of  tortilla wraps that Wendy’s tested [...]

Continuing its global push to localize not just menus but also ingredient sourcing, McDonald’s next month will introduce a new mini burger in France made for the first time with French Charolais beef. Priced at €2 (about US$2.59), the mini burger LTO will be added to the “P’tits Plaisirs” (Little Pleasures) snack line on Feb. [...]

Continuing its unusual openness about test-market menu items, McDonald’s today announced via Twitter that it is testing yet another new chicken item. Called Fresh Garden Wraps, the full-size tortilla wraps are in Orlando, Fla., stores, priced at $3.49 alone or $5.59 in combo meals. Fresh Garden Wraps, nearly identical in name and similar in style [...]

So the obvious question is how McDonald’s can report a 5.3% increase in third-quarter same-store sales when competitor Jack in the Box is down 9.4% for the latest quarter, Sonic is down 6.4%, Carl’s Jr. is down 7.4, Wendy’s is down 1.7% (Q2), and the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index has been flat for [...]

 McDonald’s has moved away from the strategy of having regional variations of its menu, with the exception of the Northeast’s McLobster and a few others, instead establishing a more easily promoted national menu. But it still needs to test new items in a few select markets, and that process seems to be accelerating. McDonald’s this [...]

Ξ IHOP never has had much presence in the burger category. Perhaps it was waiting for a gimmick. The chain’s revamped menu includes a new five-item line of Bacon ’N Beef Burgers (left). The “better burger” twist here is that chopped hickory-smoked bacon is blended into the ground beef. Choices are a Bacon ’N Beef [...]

McDonald’s is testing a full-size tortilla wrap, capitalizing on a menu lesson learned overseas and following a path already trod by others here and abroad. Wendy’s also has tested  entrée-size wraps. According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, McDonald’s is testing burrito-size Chicken Grande Wraps. All have chicken, cheese, tomato, cucumber and lettuce. The [...]

In Wendy’s release announcing its new $4.99 “Pick 2” meal deal, Chief Marketing Officer Ken Calwell is quoted as saying, “We’re building on the popularity of our new salads by letting customers ‘Pick 2’ without compromising on flavor or price.” But with Wendy’s full-size salads priced at $5.99, isn’t a price ‘compromise’ central to the $4.99 promotion? [...]

There’s no need for panic. You needn’t edge your way toward the exit. But there’s something unsettling about Smashburger’s decision this week to significantly expand its menu with seven chicken entreés but not a single new burger. After all, Smashburger not only uses “burger” in its name, it also is one of the pioneering fast-casual concepts [...]

Ξ Burger King is testing consumer response to the idea of rotating low-price specials through the week. In a variation of the daily King Deals it has offered in Canada, the chain in select U.S. markets is offering $1.69 sandwich specials on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In southern Wisconsin that means original Chicken Sandwiches are [...]

McDonald’s is playing a fancy new tune in counterpoint to Hungry Jack’s (Burger King’s) introduction of the jazzy Bourbon Whopper in Australia. New at the Golden Arches is “Angus the Third,” a variation on the upscale Grand Angus and Mighty Angus burgers it introduced a year ago. The differentiator is a sauce, described as “tomato chili [...]