McDonald’s Rolls Out McValue Platform and Daily Double Nationwide
McDonald’s rolled out its new McValue menu on January 7, 2025, positioning it as the chain’s latest national value offering. The average price of its menu items has soared around 40% over the past five years, making this value push critical. McValue includes current fan-favorites like the $5 Meal Deal, exclusive in-app offers, and local food and drink deals – plus, a brand new Buy One, Add One for $1 offer on popular items for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Daily Double, already a hit in local markets like Chicago, Miami, and Seattle, officially joined the national menu and is available at participating McDonald’s restaurants across the U.S. through the end of 2025.
Wendy’s Introduces Snickerdoodle Frosty Fusion and Value Meals
Wendy’s celebrates the 2025 holiday season with the launch of its new Snickerdoodle Frosty Fusion, featuring Frosty blended with snickerdoodle sauce and crumbled snickerdoodle cookies. The new Wendy’s deal is a 2 for $4 Biggie Bundle, which is available at select participating locations across the U.S., allowing customers to mix and match two items including Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and Crispy Chicken Sandwiches. This November, Wendy’s added a Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger to participating menus nationwide, featuring savory roasted mushrooms, crispy bacon, Muenster cheese, and creamy garlic spread all piled high on Wendy’s fresh, never frozen beef. Let’s be real, keeping prices low while adding menu innovation has become Wendy’s signature strategy in this economic climate.
Taco Bell Unveils Quesocrisp Taco with Pure Cheese Shell
Taco Bell introduced an all-new taco with a shell made out of crispy cheese called the Quesocrisp Taco, which honestly sounds crazy until you realize cheese shells are exactly what fans have been craving. Fans across the country oohed and aahed at the introduction of new menu items like the Quesocrisp Taco and Flamin’ Hot Burrito, and Taco Bell also presented a new Mountain Dew Baja Blast flavor: Mountain Dew Baja Midnight. The Flamin’ Hot Burrito features nacho cheese sauce, Flamin’ Hot Fritos, reduced-fat sour cream, seasoned beef, and NEW Flamin’ Hot Rice wrapped in a warm tortilla. Taco Bell continues its innovation goals by unveiling 30 new menu items that will come out this year. The fast-food giant clearly isn’t slowing down.
Starbucks Expands Holiday Menu with Returning Favorites
Starbucks has unveiled its 2025 holiday menu, featuring new and returning holiday food and beverages. While the PSL remained a staple, Starbucks’ 2024 fall menu expanded to include the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, which offered a cooler, creamier take on pumpkin flavor, appealing to cold brew aficionados. Starbucks introduced the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato, blending the comforting flavors of apple crisp with plant-based oat milk, catering to a wider audience. The coffee giant has shifted focus from experimental flavors to perfecting seasonal classics that customers actually order repeatedly.
Burger King Tests Wednesday Whopper with Purple Buns
Burger King recently launched a menu of items themed around the Addams Family characters – with a new and unique Wednesday’s Whopper burger with purple buns, Thing’s (Onion) Rings and Morticia’s Kooky Chocolate Shake with cake batter fudge. Burger King created new burger buns and added Swiss cheese, a new chocolate shake, and brought churros to their menus. While the collaboration was limited-time, it demonstrated Burger King’s willingness to take risks with bold visual changes to signature items that competitors wouldn’t dare touch.
Dunkin’ Launches Sabrina Carpenter Collaboration and Holiday Cookie Latte
Dunkin’ is hopping on that me espresso bandwagon with this new Sabrina Carpenter collab, and this limited-time offering has already been deemed one of the best menu releases of all time. The iced drink is made with espresso, oat milk, and brown sugar flavoring and shaken up for a frothy sip. The Holiday Cookie Signature Latte is made with brown sugar cookie syrup and toasted almond flavor, then topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and a scoop of cookie butter crumbles. I think pairing celebrity collaborations with seasonal innovations has become Dunkin’s secret weapon for capturing younger demographics.
Chick-fil-A Brings Back Key Lime Beverages for Limited Run
Originally launched in 2019, Chick-fil-A is bringing back key lime drinks for a limited time stint. Among the offerings is the chain’s Key Lime Frosted Lemonade, which combines Chick-fil-A lemonade (or diet lemonade) along with its signature Icedream dessert and key lime flavoring. Peppermint Chip has returned to the Chick-fil-A menu for the 2025 holiday season, and Chicken Tortilla Soup is also back for the winter. The strategy here is clear: bring back proven winners rather than gambling on completely untested flavors.
KFC Relaunches Hand-Breaded Chicken Nuggets with Five Sauces
This year KFC has released its hand-breaded chicken nuggets with five different sauces including two returning flavors: Nashville Hot and Georgia Gold. Chicken lovers will be excited to try the new Sticky Chicky sweet and sour sauce, Korean barbecue and honey sriracha sauce. KFC declared 2024 the year of the chicken tenders war, and the hand-breaded chicken tenders seasoned with the brand’s fabled secret spice mix were a huge hit with fans. The roughly two-year chicken tender battle among major chains shows no signs of ending soon.
Chipotle Tests Chipotle Honey Chicken Following Successful Trial
Chipotle Mexican Grill is leaning into the ongoing sweet-heat trend with the nationwide rollout of its new chipotle honey chicken, building on the successful 2024 test run. The dish features chicken marinated in smoked chipotle peppers, seasoned with a bold Mexican spice blend, and finished with a touch of honey. Chipotle honey chicken was the top performing limited time offer in test markets, according to the brand’s chief. The fast-casual chain rarely adds new proteins, making this launch particularly significant for menu watchers.
Pizza Hut Returns Triple Treat Box for Holiday Season
The Triple Treat Box is back at Pizza Hut for the 2025 holiday season. Pizza Hut launched Hot Honey Pepperoni pizza, as well as Hot Honey Wings nationwide in February 2024, and the Hot Honey Pepperoni pizza was a moist masterpiece, where the harmony of sweet meets heat hit the mark perfectly. The hot honey trend that dominated 2024 menus has firmly established itself as more than a passing fad, with nearly every major chain offering some version now.
Shake Shack Introduces Big Shack and Korean BBQ Burger
Shake Shack launches a new, Big Mac-esque, deluxe version of its signature ShackBurger called the Big Shack as a limited-time special. Earlier this year, Shake Shack announced a new South Korean-inspired menu, which includes a new fast food item in the form of a Korean BBQ burger. An Angus beef patty comes doused in Korean barbecue sauce, built with crispy onions, fresh scallions and cheese on a toasted potato bun. The premium burger chain continues walking a fine line between maintaining its upscale image and competing on value.
Krispy Kreme Updates Menu with Nine New Donut Flavors
Krispy Kreme has refreshed its doughnut lineup with nine new flavors, including five permanent additions and four seasonal releases. The update comes as McDonald’s continues moving forward with its plans – first announced in March 2024 – to offer three Krispy Kreme doughnut flavors in select locations, with ambitious rollout expectations through 2026, however, several months later, leaders from both companies decided to suspend further expansion and end the current supply arrangement, citing profitability challenges. What do you think about these rapid menu changes across the industry? Are chains updating too often, or is constant innovation what keeps you coming back for more?