The Real Reason Wendy's Got Rid Of Their Biggie Sizes
In the dog-eat-dog world of burgers and fries, it's sometimes hard to figure who is copying who. Burger King tried to copy McDonald's celebrity promotion meals back in September (via CNN). McDonald's tried to piggyback off of Chick-fil-A with its own take on chicken sandwiches and chicken strips (via Business Insider). This method of constant copy-catting reaches into how much food you could get, as is the case of the infamous "Supersize" option from McDonald's and the "Biggie" option from Wendy's.
For those of you unaware of what these options meant, there was a time you could upgrade your already large fries and soda into an even larger size. McDonald's offered Supersize fries up to 7 ounces of pure potato, while Wendy's offered up Biggie soda that were equal to 3.5 12-ounce cans of soda. For only a nominal price, Wendy's advertised, you could upgrade your fries and soda to a Biggie, claiming they offer "no surprises" for better value (via YouTube). It truly was a time when you could eat like a king for only pocket change. Yet nowadays, the option to supersize or "Biggie" your meals is nowhere to be found, leaving us with only the three classic choices of small, medium, and large. What exactly happened to the fabled Wendy's Biggie? Was it a case of being too popular, and it collapsed under its own weight? Or did another factor lead to the disappearance of the Biggie?
The Biggie was too big for its own good
In 2004, Morgan Spurlock released "Supersize Me," a film featuring Spurlock consuming nothing but McDonald's food for an entire month and documenting the results. The outcome of Spurlock's experiment showed him dealing with the physical and mental changes of his fast-food diet, such as gaining weight and depression. Much like Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" horrified Americans with its vivid and nauseating descriptions of unclean meat processing, so did "Supersize Me." Americans became aware of just how much fast food they were eating and what may happen to them if they continued such a trend.
Of course, McDonald's would soon come under fire by calorie-conscious Americans. While McDonald's would remove the Supersize options from the menu in the same year, the company claimed this was simply an act of "menu simplification" to remove unpopular offerings and not a response to Spurlock's film (via CBS). Wendy's, despite not being targeted as blatantly as its rival, still quietly removed the Biggie options in 2004 as well. The company also began to offer healthier choices such as baked potatoes and yogurt to the menu, as well as beginning to switch to a less-fattening cooking oil (via NBC).
While today, a Biggie option isn't as prominent as it used to be, perhaps one day in the 2020s (where anything is now possible), you may be able to "Biggie" your soda once again.