Wendy’s Turning Blue (Literally) at Overseas Restaurants

In April, Wendy’s rolled out a new design concept at its 100th restaurant in the Philippines that featured two firsts: a digital-centric layout and a light blue façade, rather than its traditional red one, Fast Company reports.  Restaurants looking like that are now available to franchisees across the company’s international markets, with locations already open in Chile, England and Scotland. But so far, at least, none are in the U.S.

The blue color scheme is part Wendy’s “Future Fresh” initiative. On the company’s May 8 earnings call, CFO Ken Cook (who is also currently serving as Interim CEO), said the new format makes the brand stand out from the competition—most of which favor red at the center of their brand palettes.

There’s good reason for that, FC notes: ketchup-colored red can make you hungry. But for Wendy’s, cool blue is part of its heritage. Its long-used cartoon mascot (inspired by founder Dave Thomas’s red-headed daughter) is accented in blue, and in the past the company has outfitted workers in blue-and-white-striped uniforms.

This move to blue comes at a time that Wendy’s is closing hundreds of underperforming restaurants in the U.S. Internationally, though, the Ohio-based chain is still expanding – earlier this month, for instance, it announced plans for a China-based franchisee to build up to 1000 restaurants in that country over the next decade.

Wendy’s didn’t respond to FC’s questions about how widely the blue color scheme might be adopted both overseas and in the U.S. But by making the color more prominent, the magazine concludes, Wendy’s would definitely stand out from the fast-food crowd.