Wendy's Removes Soda from Kids’ Menu

QSR is latest fast-food chain to take soda off its kids’ menu.

January 19, 2015

MCLEAN, Va. – USA Today reported last week that fast-food chain Wendy’s took soda off its kids’ menu as an option on the menu board; however, if customers order a cold fountain beverage they won’t be denied one.

“The fast-food chain is the most recent to cave to pressure from children's health advocacy groups. McDonald's made a similar commitment to drop soda from Happy Meals in 2013, after partnering with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a group aimed at fighting childhood obesity,” writes USA Today.

Bob Bertini, a spokesman for Wendy's, told the publication that soft drinks were never meant to be the default beverage option on the chain’s kids’ menu. "When ordering a kids' meal, the customer is asked what beverage they prefer," Bertini was quoted as saying. "The change is the kids' meal beverage options which are shown on our menu boards." He continued to explain that the QSR began displaying images of "healthful beverage options," including 1% white or chocolate milk, bottled water and 100% juice.

Bertini said that the kids' meal soft drink option no longer appears on menu boards inside or at the drive-thru, or on the mobile app in the United States and Canada.

Health advocates are calling the change a victory in the “soda wars,” noting that other chains such as Subway, Arby’s and Chipotle do not offer soda on kids’ menus either. Burger King, however, has not followed suit — so far. An email statement from Burger King to USA Today said the company is "currently in the process of analyzing the removal of fountain drinks from our kids' menu boards."

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