Wendy’s Mission Statement Explained : The Key Messages

Wendy’s Mission statement is a great example of a company that has truly perfected the tried and trusted mission statement formula.

As of 2021, the 60+-year-old company outlines their mission as follows:

“To deliver superior quality products and services for our customers and communities through leadership, innovation, and partnerships.”

Here, we can see a company that truly understands that the best mission statements outline three clear priorities:

what the company does
Who they do it for
How they do it.

By keeping things clear, simple, and focused on what truly matters, the Ohio-based brand makes sure that customers, employees, and investors alike all understand exactly what Wendy’s is about and whether they’re a brand for them.

Below, we’ll outline how the company addresses these three key points and what message each one says about their brand.

Name:	Wendy’s
Founded:	November 15, 1969
Headquarters:	Dublin, Ohio
Industry:	food service
Market cap:	$4.95B (as of August 2021)

Wendy’s Mission Statement – In-Depth Analysis

As we’ve just discussed, Wendy’s straightforward mission statement can be seen demonstrating the three key principles that any company should be following if they want to make their mission as universally understood as possible, so let’s look at each key point in turn.

What the Company Does

“ Deliver superior quality products and services .”

While similar businesses like Chipotle set themselves somewhat vague goals like “ food with integrity,” Wendy’s gets right to the point.

They’re not interested in a mission that sounds aspirational but has no real grounding in the everyday reality of what they do; they simply want to provide the absolute best products (in this case, food) and customer service you’ll find anywhere else.

Just as we can break their mission statement as a whole down into three parts, this first part alone can be broken down further to show that even though Wendy’s kept things simple, they’re still capable of packing an awful lot of information into just six little words.

Superior Quality

The word “superior” is an important one here. Notice that the company hasn’t gone for “great quality,” “top quality,” or even emotive words and phrases such as “exceptional” or “great tasting.”

They chose “superior” for a reason, as this word sets them apart from their competitors. For Wendy’s, great or even exceptional isn’t good enough. They set themselves out to deliver superior quality that is better than you’ll get anywhere else.

Forget McDonald’s or Burger King, or Chick-Fil-A, when you eat at Wendy’s, according to this; the company is going to do everything you can ensure your experience is superior to anywhere else.

Products

This one may seem obvious, but it really does matter. Though the company is perhaps best known for their range of burgers, that’s far from all they sell.

In fact, their chicken nuggets frequently prove to be their best-selling item , while fries, frosties, and even salads often appear in their top-ten sellers.

By using the word “products” rather than burgers, or even “food,” Wendy’s let it be known that no matter what you buy from them, you’re always going to receive the brand’s same commitment to superior quality.

Service

That commitment continues with their level of customer service, and again, this is vitally important.

After all, if a restaurant serves amazing food but it takes forever to get served, or the staff is less than pleasant, customers just aren’t going to return.

We can see from all this that regardless of what Wendy’s does, they strive to do it better than anyone else in their industry.

Who They Do It For

“For our customers and communities.”

After defining what they do, Wendy’s gets straight into outlining exactly who are the containers of this “superior quality.”

Customers

The customer’s aspect is pretty self-explanatory. After all, Wendy’s is first and foremost a commercial enterprise, so of course, their customers are important, but that doesn’t mean that the company shouldn’t mention it.

By putting customers first in their mission statement, the brand is sending the message that they put their customers first in their chain of restaurants too. With this message, the company is saying that they don’t do what they do for investors, shareholders, or even CEOs, what they do for us, their customers.

Communities

By expanding what they do to include communities, the company demonstrates its social consciousness. Much like brands such as Ben & Jerry’s , Wendy’s aims to set themselves apart by demonstrating that they understand the impact of their business on the wider community just as they understand the fortunate position that being a successful company put them in when it comes to supporting good causes.

This isn’t just paying lip service either; the brand’s website details how they’re doing their bit to reduce their environmental impact and give back .

How They Do It

“Through leadership, innovation and partnerships.”

Finally, Wendy’s outlines how they strive to deliver this superior quality to their customers and communities.

Again, there are three key points to look out for here:

Leadership

When Wendy’s talks about leadership, they aren’t simply talking about managers, CEOs, and their internal employee structure.

Sure, having strong leaders can certainly make a big difference in terms of inspiring and motivating teams. Of course, an inspired and motivated team is far more likely to deliver that superior quality, but that isn’t all that’s going on here.

Along with their mission statement, Wendy’s also has a vision statement in which they explain that their vision is to:

“to be the quality leader in everything we do.”

This is what they’re talking about when they’re talking about leadership. This isn’t just about what’s going on internally within their company, and it’s about setting out to become industry leaders and a shining example of success.

Innovation

Innovation is something you’ll often see many companies talk about, yet it’s far from a meaningless buzzword.

It’s one of those words that grabs our attention and lets us know that a company simply isn’t content to rest on its laurels.

That’s certainly the way that Wendy’s has applied it. By using this simple yet powerful word, the company is letting it be known that they will continue to adapt to changes in business, in the world around them, and especially to changes in customer demands and expectations.

It’s this last point that really matters the most. Wendy’s is making it clear that they continue to strive to create new menu items so that long-time customers never get bored with the same old, same old.

Partnerships

Even the most successful brands recognize that the best success is achieved when people, brands, and organizations work together, which is why they finish their mission statement with an emphasis on their partnerships.

It’s this point that is really reflected throughout the entire rest of their statement.

It’s their partnerships with ethical farmers and suppliers that help them to deliver superior quality products while also supporting their communities.

It’s the internal partnerships their teams form with each other that help them deliver superior quality service.

Their partnerships with charitable causes and social justice groups also really help them act upon their mission that emphasizes giving back and reducing their environmental impact.

Wendy’s Vision Statement

“to be the quality leader in everything we do.”

If Wendy’s mission statement is a perfect example of one that follows the tried-and-trusted formula, then their vision statement is equally as perfect at demonstrating not only how simple such statements can be but how much more effective things can be with both vision and mission statements online.

As we’ve already discussed, leadership is a quality that Wendy’s takes an immense amount of pride in as they set out to become the undisputed leaders in their industry.

However what’s really noticeable about this vision statement is that it extends their focus on being a quality leader in “ everything [they] do.”

That means that they lead not only in terms of the quality of their products and customer service, but in the quality of the partnerships and relationships they build, in the quality of their social action, and the quality of their innovation.

Wendy’s Values

Wendy’s sums up their values with one simple statement:

“Good Done Right.”

They go onto outline that doing good right means placing a focus on three core values:

food
people
Footprint (environmental impact).

Again, this is a great example of a brand that has really thought about its message and ensured that its mission, values, and values are all well in alignment.

Every one of these values can be found in its mission statement.

Their focus on superior quality products is reflected in their food-related values.

Their on great service for customers and communities is reflected in their focus on people, while their commitment to the communities is further in their “Footprint” values around environmental impact, ensuring that they do their part for local, national, and global communities .

Key Takeaways

Wendy’s mission statement may not be the most complex, but there’s still a lot to learn from it.

With that said, here are the three key takeaways from this mission statement are:

Keep it clear and simple – Wendy’s doesn’t have the shortest mission statement around, but it’s clear that they chose every word carefully, ensuring that anyone who reads it understands exactly what this company is all about.

Use the winning formula – Outlining what you do, who you do it for, and how is as simple as any mission statement ever needs to be and can really make a big difference in getting your message across.

Being aspirational doesn’t mean being vague – while a lot of companies have a mission focused on changing the world or unquantifiable achiever aims, Wendy’s mission to be leaders in what they do prove that you can still have lofty goals that are well-defined.

Other Businesses with Similar Values

Wendy’s isn’t the only brand to focus so heavily on quality and industry leadership. Other brands with similar values in both the food industry and others include:

Burger King – One of Wendy’s biggest competitors in the burger market, Burger King focuses on putting quality food and customer experiences first, with a similar goal of becoming the leaders in their field.

Boeing – Even though they’re in a very different industry, Boeing’s mission statement focuses on using partnerships to become leaders in their field, a mission that very much aligns with Wendy’s.

Chipotle – Chipoltle’s mission statement may be very different from Wendy’s, but their overall ethos on managing environmental impact and caring about the wider community is definitely similar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is Wendy’s Slogan?

Answer: As of 2021, Wendy’s slogan is “you know when it’s real,” a line that speaks to the quality of their authentic ingredients.

Question: What was Wendy’s Old Slogan?

Answer: Wendy’s has had a number of slogans over the years, though the company is best remembered for their “Where’s the beef?” marketing campaign.

Question: What is Wendy’s Philosophy?

Answer: “Quality is our recipe” has been the philosophy of Wendy’s since the company’s inception in the late 1960s.

References:

https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/31/Wendy-s-International-Inc.html
https://www.statista.com/topics/2416/wendy-s/
https://blog.logomyway.com /wendys-logo/
https://fastfoodnutrition.org/wendys/popular
https://wendys.ge/en/about/our-company
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s
https:// www.wendys.com/csr-what-we-value/people

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Maddy Chiffey

Maddy Chiffey loves one thing: results. She knows how thrilling it is to come up with a business idea and watch it take off. So, she now dedicates her time to working as a content creator to help other people learn how to become successful. All of the content she creates on Business Chronicler is aimed at helping you learn, grow, and thrive as a business owner.