• USA Today, Wednesday, November 10, 2010 10:36 AM

Wendy's will introduce Fast Food Nation tomorrow to a better French fry, Bruce Horovitz reports, that's cut from 100% russet potatoes with the skin on and sprinkled with sea salt.

"Wendy's has never had the best French fry," admits marketing chief Ken Calwell. "If it's not your strength, you can start with a clean sheet." He also says that people associate sea salt with "good, natural things."

This year alone, 1,349 other new products have been introduced with sea salt as an ingredient, according to Mintel, and the percentage of all foods and beverages with the spice jumped from 5% in 2006 to more than 8% in 2010. "Sea salt has the potential to grow as fast as low-carb did," says Mintel's Lynn Dornblaser. "Hopefully, it won't decline as fast."

Wendy's is known for it's burgers, but that isn't stopping it from testing a premium offering named after its founder -- Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger -- reports Karlene Lukovitz in this morning's Marketing Daily. Dave's once-pigtailed daughter, 49-year-old Wendy Thomas, stars in regional commercials for the item.

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