In these tough economic times, making your dining dollar stretch is something of a pastime for TikTok creators. One of the latest to enter the area: Creator Joe Kidd (@dadcasualtv), who on Thursday posted a viral video about a “secret Wendy’s Chicken Nugget order.” To Kidd’s delight, he stumbled upon a way to get more poultry for your penny.
The video has almost 200,000 views and 4,700 likes.
“I’m gonna need somebody with some insider Wendy’s information to help me out with this one, because this isn’t making any sense to me,” he says to the camera.
Kidd continues, “So I go into Wendy’s and I want to get my nugg on, right?” The creator explains that he thinks Wendy’s has the best chicken nuggets out there. He sees a 10-piece chicken nugget meal for $9.99 on the menu.
“And I’m thinking, that’s a fair price for some nuggs,” he says, then continues, “I see on that board that there is a family-size order of chicken nuggets that comes with 40 chicken nuggets.”
Kidd says the 40-piece cost $14.99—just $5 more for four times the nuggets.
“Now I know what you’re thinking,” Kidd says. “You don’t need 40 chicken nuggets. But at that kind of price, I mean, how are you not gonna buy 40 chicken nuggets?”
The answer is revealed as the creator brandishes a huge to-go container of delicious nuggets.
“You ABSOLUTELY do need 40 nugs! Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!” one commenter encouraged.
“My daughter works at Wendy’s and this is 100% true,” another commenter wrote.
“They also have a family size chili that’s cheap,” someone added.
“Dang that’s cheaper than the frozen Dino nugs I got from the store for my son,” a comment read.
“Wendy’s be changing their prices soon with all this logic,” another person wrote.
And some viewers were looking elsewhere for deals. “Our McDonald’s has a basket of fries.. makes it somewhat affordable getting family sized to split amongst people,” a viewer chimed in. Another wrote, “2 pound bag of Tyson nuggets should yield 30 nuggets for $7. [Air fryer] would have them ready in less time than the drive [thru] at Wendy’s.”
A few commenters pointed out that the 10-piece meal price point factored in fries and a drink, instead of the pure, unadulterated nuggets in the 40-piece. At a nearby Wendy’s in the Daily Dot’s Austin, Texas, hometown, a 10-piece nugget runs $5.29, while the combo meal version costs $10.29, according to the menu.
@dadcasualtv The secret Wendy's Chicken Nugget order. #JoeKidd #dadjoke #joke #jokes #comedy #funny #wendys ♬ original sound – Joe Kidd
Kidd’s video did not disclose the location of the Wendy’s where he purchased the nuggets. Many viewers wrote wrote that in their markets, the deal is 50 nuggets for $14.99. Another viewer commented, “My local Wendy’s doesn’t have the ‘Family Size’ option. I feel cheated.”
For what it’s worth, there’s no family-size nugget option on the Wendy’s menu at the Dot’s Austin location.
It does seem like the kinds of deals described by Kidd vary from time to time at Wendy’s. A May 2023 Reddit thread on Wendy’s subreddit contained similarly differing reports from customers in different areas. In October, another TikTok creator went viral by sharing a $14.99 deal for 50 nuggets. In 2020, the chain ran a “Feed the Family” promotion that included a family-size portion of nuggets for $10.99, according to Thrillist.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kidd via TikTok and Wendy’s via email.