Following its first yearly same-store sales loss in 18 years, Wendy's International is developing up to 60 new products -- including a test of breakfast items -- for its menu. It will also pump up advertising by some 25 million in hopes of improving sales and margins, reports The RAB and AdAge.

Central to the program is a new three-tiered strategy to increase same-store sales: implementing a breakfast menu; adding new core and specialty products; and introducing new menu platforms. It also calls for more relevant advertising.

Ian Rowden, Wendy's chief marketing officer, said the company will have 30 to 60 products at the various stages this year, with seven to 10 new products or extensions hitting the market. Wendy's is also as adding 25 million to the advertising coffers to support the new products.

Wendy's estimates that its "fair share" of the total breakfast business will be 160,000 per store per year, but Rowden said it would take three years to reach those levels, beginning in 2007, when the company plans its rollout. In building its breakfast menu, Wendy's will partner with General Mills, Coca-Cola Co. and Procter & Gamble, among others, to develop "distinctive" menu items.

Some of those items that will make their debut this year are the long-awaited Frescata gourmet deli sandwiches; four new Garden Sensations salads; a 10-piece Chicken Nugget Combo; and two kids' meal deli sandwiches. Other tests include a Double Melt cheeseburger, a 99-cent chicken sandwich, new beverages, a vanilla Frosty and three-tier combo sizing options.

The chain's attempts to reinvigorate its core platforms have begun to gain traction despite still-lagging sales. Late in 2005, Wendy's established its "personalization" position in an attempt to "reclaim" its custom-made-burger heritage that Burger King has become known for. "In recent weeks, we have seen key attribute ratings for our brand begin to rebound for the first time in two years," said Rowden.