The New Platforms
Hardee's is pushing two simultaneous menu platforms into its 1,400-plus domestic locations as of September 9, targeting the seasonal transition window that QSR chains have increasingly treated as a distinct occasion — not quite summer, not yet fall. The S'mores Platform leads the LTO push with three dispensed and hand-held items: a S'mores Iced Coffee built on cold brew with toasted marshmallow and chocolate syrups; a S'mores Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shake finished with graham cracker and chocolate sprinkles; and a S'mores Fried Pie with a golden shell filled with graham crumble, marshmallow cream, and chocolate filling. The fried pie format in particular is a proven convenience-adjacent SKU — portable, hand-held, and well-suited to on-the-go dayparts that overlap with the c-store traffic pattern.
The Bacon Beast Platform covers both breakfast and lunch-dinner. On the morning side, the Super Bacon Biscuit runs three slices of cherrywood smoked bacon with egg and American cheese on a Made from Scratch Biscuit, while the Bacon Beast Homestyle Breakfast Burrito loads four bacon slices into a warm tortilla with fluffy eggs and melted cheese. For the afternoon, the Bacon Beast Burger stacks four slices of cherrywood smoked bacon on a 100% Angus beef patty on a brioche bun; the Bacon Beast Chicken Sandwich mirrors that bacon count on hand-breaded white meat chicken.
Loyalty and Biscuit Return
Hardee's is using the Bacon Beast Burger as a loyalty acquisition lever: new My Rewards members receive a free Bacon Beast Burger upon sign-up for a limited time. Loyalty-linked free-item offers have become standard QSR traffic tools, and for a chain operating across convenience-heavy drive-through markets — Hardee's footprint covers 31 states — enrollment incentives tied to a high-protein, high-visibility SKU can generate measurable app downloads and first-party data at relatively low incremental food cost.
Also returning: the Cinnamon 'N' Raisin Biscuit, a sweet biscuit with raisins and cinnamon topped with icing glaze. Sarah Breymaier, vice president of brand marketing at Hardee's, framed the dual-platform approach as intentional seasonal bridging. "Our new S'mores platform keeps those warm, nostalgic summer moments alive, while the return of our Cinnamon 'N' Raisin Biscuit brings the comfort guests love as the seasons change," she said.
C-Store Relevance
For c-store operators tracking QSR-at-forecourt competition, the Hardee's push is a reminder of how aggressively the burger and biscuit segment is working the morning and snack dayparts — territory that convenience retailers have been building through proprietary dispensed beverage and foodservice programs. Cold brew iced coffee, hand-held fried pies, and biscuit sandwiches are all categories where well-capitalized QSR chains can outspend the average single-store operator on marketing and LTO velocity. Hardee's parent CKE Restaurants Holdings operates more than 3,600 franchised or company-operated restaurants across Carl's Jr. and Hardee's combined, in 44 U.S. states and more than 35 countries — scale that supports national media buys behind each platform launch. C-store foodservice directors benchmarking their own morning programs against QSR competition should note the continued emphasis on bacon load, scratch-biscuit positioning, and portable sweet items as traffic drivers through the seasonal shift.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
