Wendy's Finally Releases Strawberry Frosty in US But There's a Catch

Wendy's has become a bit of a staple in the fast food landscape, with menu items that have gained notoriety of their own. Among them is the Frosty, a frozen concoction that has been with the chain since its inception in 1969, but has only come in a handful of flavors. The elusive strawberry Frosty has become somewhat of an urban legend among consumers in the United States, as it has only been available for sale sporadically in Canada since 2010. For the first time ever, the strawberry Frosty can now be purchased in the United States — but only in a very specific way. The drink is only available at the Wendy's Hamburger Stand in Heath, Ohio, which is located inside of a Walmart store just 42 miles away from Wendy's headquarters. The location opened in early August, and it offers a number of exclusive offerings, including nuggets in Buttermilk Ranch and Jalapeno Cheddar flavors, and Frosty sundaes in Chocolate Lover and Strawberry Celebration flavors.

"If you want to find a strawberry Frosty," Wendy's CEO and president Todd Penegor confirmed to Nation's Restaurant News. "you can only find it today in the in the Hamburger Stand restaurant. And we've got this unbelievably great Jalapeno Popper Chicken Nugget that in that restaurant that isn't in our freestanding restaurant."

"It's just another opportunity with a little more limited menu to continue to provide access to our brand," Penegor continued. "We do think access drives awareness; awareness drives trial and repeat; and that really drives frequency overtime. So that's part of our strategy moving forward."

While this Heath, Ohio Wendy's is the first of its kind, the company already has plans to open a second location in a Walmart, with Penegor telling Restaurant News that the company plans to expand into more nontraditional locations.

"Over the next four or five years," Penegor added, "we're probably going to be doing about 40% to 50% of our new-unit development in non-traditional."

This is the latest instance that Wendy's menu changes have made headlines, with the company changing the recipe of its iconic french fries, in hopes of the new option maintaining its crispiness for longer.

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