What Happened To Wendy's Frosty 'Mix-Ins'?
Whether you choose to dip your fries or not, there's no denying that the Frosty from Wendy's is one of the most iconic fast-food offerings. Taste of Home reports that there is actually a science behind the Frosty-fry appeal. Wendy's fries are warm, crispy, and salty, which perfectly contrasts with the cold sweetness of the Frosty.
When the first Wendy's opened in 1969, its menu featured only five items for customers to purchase — one of which was the Frosty (via Reader's Digest). The recipe has stayed largely the same since its invention, though there was a slight decrease in butter fat in order to appease customers.
The chocolate Frosty was the original flavor, but the formula is actually a mix of chocolate and vanilla flavorings so that the chocolate won't overwhelm customers. Wendy's added a plain vanilla flavor to its menu in August 2006, per Reader's Digest, and it has remained on the menu ever since. However, alterations to the classic frozen treat haven't always been such a huge success — as is the case with the Twisted Frosty flavors.
This treat mimicked other ice cream chains
Back in 2007, Wendy's added a new feature to its classic frosty: mix-in sweets (via Nation's Restaurant News). The creation was dubbed the "Twisted Frosty," and was served at nearly 4,500 Wendy's locations upon its initial launch. Customers could choose from a chocolate or vanilla flavored Frosty, and then opt to mix in M&M or Oreo cookie pieces. Wendy's later added two additional flavors — Coffee Toffee, which was advertised with a musical commercial that can still be viewed on YouTube, and a Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor (via On Second Scoop).
As of June 2011, Second Scoop Frozen News reports, Wendy's was no longer serving Twisted Frostys on its menu — despite the writer's local Wendy's still serving them through May of that year. Wendy's didn't announce the discontinuation, instead opting to quietly remove the frozen treats from its menus. The sudden disappearance left some fans devastated at the loss — there was even a Change.org petition started to bring back the Coffee Toffee flavor but it only garnered nine supporters.
Wendy's offers other Frosty flavors
Though Wendy's might not offer the Frosty with mix-ins anymore, the classic frozen treat can always be ordered from the fast-food restaurant. The classic vanilla and chocolate flavors are, of course, the staples, but Wendy's has recently begun shaking things up in the flavor department. In June 2022, Wendy's announced that the vanilla Frosty would be temporarily replaced with a strawberry flavor, after high demand from fans. The sweet, summer strawberry flavor lasted until the end of summer 2022 as restaurants ran out of supplies to make it. The classic vanilla returned to the menu — until mid-November.
On November 15, 2022, Wendy's launched its peppermint Frosty, once again giving vanilla the boot to make way for a seasonal flavor (via AllRecipes). The minty Frosty takes it flavor inspiration from a classic Christmas flavor. It arrived just in time for the holiday season. In fact, the Wendy's menu states that its "Frosty is all dressed up for the holidays." The trend of swapping out flavors might be relatively new for Wendy's, but perhaps it could lead to the revival of the mix-ins someday if there's enough demand from fans.
In the meantime, you can always take a Frosty home and add the ingredients yourself.