Following a 2025 regional test that generated enough guest pull to justify a full rollout, Zaxby's is bringing the NERDS Strawberry Milkshake to all 1,000-plus locations across 24 states beginning August 31 for a limited time. The move marks one of the chain's broader LTO deployments and signals growing operator confidence in candy-brand cross-promotions as a daypart traffic driver.
The Product
The milkshake blends Zaxby's hand-spun Strawberry Milkshake base with Original NERDS candies and is finished with NERDS Gummy Clusters, Rainbow NERDS candy, whipped cream, and a Maraschino cherry. The sweet-tart candy format adds textural contrast to the creamy base — a combination the chain positioned in test markets against its core Chicken Fingerz daypart to extend the check with a dessert attach.
LTO Strategy in Context
Candy co-branding has become a reliable menu engineering lever in the QSR segment, with chains ranging from fast-casual chicken to burger specialists leaning on recognizable confectionery IP to generate social-media lift without significant supply-chain complexity. For Zaxby's — named QSR Magazine's Transformational Brand of the Year in 2025 — the NERDS partnership extends a brand-building arc that has positioned the Atlanta-based chain as a marketing-forward operator even as it grows beyond its Southeastern heartland.
Patrick Schwing, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Zaxby's, noted that test-market reception validated the flavor logic: the tangy crunch of NERDS candy complements a creamy milkshake base in a way that reads as indulgent without requiring new kitchen equipment. That operational simplicity matters at a 1,000-unit system where franchisee execution consistency is paramount. Keeping an LTO within existing equipment and supply lines reduces friction for operators and shortens the ramp to full system availability.
Scale and Operator Implications
At 1,000-plus units across 24 states, Zaxby's has reached a scale where a single LTO can generate meaningful brand impressions nationally while still carrying the scarcity framing of a limited-time offer. The chain's app and digital ordering infrastructure also allows it to capture demand data in real time — a competitive advantage over smaller regional operators when evaluating whether to extend or retire a limited item. Broader digital ordering penetration also supports upsell prompts at the point of sale, which can improve dessert attach rates without adding labor.
For the broader chicken QSR segment, the Zaxby's-NERDS activation illustrates how chains are increasingly treating beverage and dessert dayparts as incremental revenue opportunities rather than afterthoughts. As commodity and labor costs remain elevated across foodservice, driving attach on high-margin items like hand-spun milkshakes becomes a meaningful unit-economics lever. Operators looking for comparable dessert-daypart plays can review recent menu innovation coverage and QSR segment analysis on Foodservice News.
The milkshake is available in-restaurant, through zaxbys.com, and via the Zaxby's app for a limited time.
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.
