Wendy's Pretzel Burger Goes After McRib and Waffle Taco

To compete with the ranks of Taco Bell's rumored waffle taco and McDonald's cult favorite McRib, Wendy's is reportedly testing out a new innovation: a pretzel burger.

Sources say Wendy's is secretly testing the pretzel burger, actually a bacon cheeseburger with a soft pretzel-like bun, in a handful of locations, including Miami. Though a spokesman declined to provide any further details on the fast-food chain's newest invention, there has been a lot of talk on Twitter about such a burger.

Last week, analyst Mark Kalinowski confirmed a Wendy's pretzel bacon cheeseburger is on the way.

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"We do not know exactly when this product will go national; Wendy's confirms 'it will be part of our 2013 promotional calendar.' Our best guess is for a Q3 launch," Kalinowski, who works for a Janney Montgomery Scott firm, wrote in a May 24 report, according to the Huffington Post.

Wendy's could upend the current fast-food competitive market with a pretzel burger, said Christopher Muller, professor of hospitality at Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration.

"This could be a very, very big deal," he told USA Today. "I don't know why, but there's nothing else on the market quite like it."

The one hurdle a pretzel burger could face is pricing. Sources say the burger is expected to be premium priced, but price-conscious fast-food consumers are set on lower-priced value items.

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Other fast-food restaurants have also unveiled nontraditional, creative menu items recently. Earlier this month, Taco Bell made headlines when it started testing a waffle taco in 800 of its locations nationwide. The "taco" comes steaming in foil with a sausage and scrambled egg folded into the waffle. A packet of syrup is included.

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