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1851 Franchise Weekly Sizzle

Check out the hottest franchising headlines from the past week.

By Nick Powills1851 Franchise Publisher
SPONSOREDUpdated 1:13PM • 05/13/16

Pizza Hut Delivers to Mount Kilimanjaro

Craving a slice of pepperoni pizza while scaling Mount Kilimanjaro? You may be in luck. To celebrate Pizza Hut opening in its 100th country, the brand delivered a pizza to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania—the tallest peak in Africa. Five mountaineers brought the pizza over 19,000 feet while using a battery-powered heater to make the historic delivery. This delivery earned the brand the Guinness World Record for the highest-altitude pizza delivery on land.
 
 
Shares Down Despite Quarterly Gains at Wendy’s
The Dublin, Ohio-based chain Wendy’s Co., announced a better-than-expected quarterly profit even though overall earnings for the company fell year-over-year. The brand’s new “$4 for 4” value menu contributed to the above-anticipated quarterly-profits. While the brand saw an uptick from the new value meal offering, Wendy’s same-store sales quarterly growth was “somewhat below” the unchanged full-year target of 3 percent. The company is planning on having 95 percent of its restaurants franchised this year.
 
 
McDonald’s Testing Fresh Beef in Dallas
The Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s Corp., has announced that it is testing Quarter Pounders made with fresh beef in Dallas. This is a move away from the brand’s frozen beef product. The test is taking place at 14 locations in Dallas and will only include burgers made with quarter-pound patties. This move would be a huge directional shift for the brand that has built their production around the use of frozen patties. However, this is another sign that CEO Steve Easterbrook is looking to reinvigorate the iconic brand.
 
 
Friendly’s is Selling Retail Ice Cream Business
Dean Foods is acquiring the retail ice cream and manufacturing business from Friendly’s Ice Cream LLC. While Friendly’s is selling the retail and manufacturing business, the ownership of the 206 U.S. locations will remain under the affiliate Sun Capital Partners Inc. As of right now, Friendly’s ice cream is sold in more than 8,000 retail locations. Dean Foods currently produces Friendly’s ice cream and is the nation’s largest processor and direct-to-store distributor of fresh fluid milk.
 
 
Pie Five Launches Granny’s Apple Pie
Ahead of the summer season, Pie Five has launched their new Granny’s apple pie, a limited-time offering. The American classic is getting an update with a snickerdoodle cookie crust, spiced apples and a cinnamon streusel crumble. The new dessert pie will be available through June 19, 2016.
 
 

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