Wendy’s using DoorDash to boost breakfast delivery

Wendy’s is leveraging delivery to compete in the breakfast wars waging among fast-food chains.

The Ohio-based chain teamed up with third-party delivery service DoorDash to offer customers one free Breakfast Baconator on demand March 3 when they spend $5.

Wendy’s will debut its new breakfast menu next week, joining a number of other chains that are adding more offerings to the morning meal category. The full menu will feature three new breakfast sandwiches served on biscuits, croissants and buns with meat and eggs. The company is also rolling out a maple bacon chicken croissant and a honey butter chicken biscuit with the addition of new sides like potato wedges and sausage gravy.

While Wendy's continues to focus on meat-based menu items, many other fast-food chains have leaned into the plant-based meat category for breakfast. Starbucks on Wednesday announced it would add a plant-based Beyond Meat sandwich to its menu in Canada beginning March 3.

BURGER KING LAUNCHES MEATLESS IMPOSSIBLE SAUSAGE BREAKFAST SANDWICH

Impossible Foods teamed up with Burger King for a breakfast sandwich featuring its plant-based pork last month following Dunkin’s partnership with rival Beyond Meat for its breakfast sandwich.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
WEN	THE WENDY'S CO.	19.82	-0.14	-0.70%
DNKN	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
BYND	BEYOND MEAT INC.	6.06	-0.01	-0.16%

The push to invest in breakfast comes as fewer people consume the morning meal at home, likely since it’s the least costly to buy on the go, according to research from NPD Group, which found that breakfast and late-night mealtime hours are the fastest-growing segments in the industry. What’s more, the global frozen breakfast food market is forecast to reach $1.15 billion at a 6 percent growth rate by 2023, according to a report by global technology research and advisory company Technavio.

Wendy's has also been known for its social media-savvy campaigns that target fast-food competitors. One of its promotions for its breakfast Baconator features a former McDonald's chef indulging in the sandwich.

Wendy's fourth-quarter earnings rose 41 percent to $26.5 million, or 11 cents a share. Adjusted profit was 8 cents a share, in line with estimates. Total revenue climbed 7.4 percent to $427.2 million while North American same-store sales grew 4.3 percent.

“We have momentum in our business as evidenced by our accelerating sales growth in the second half of the year, which sets us up well going into 2020,” CEO Todd Penegor said in a statement. “Our focus remains on efficient, accelerated growth behind our three major growth pillars: entering the breakfast daypart, growing our digital business, and expanding our international footprint.”

FOX Business' Jonathan Garber contributed to this report.