Wendy's brings back iconic Sweet and Sour sauce. But for how long?

Wendy's has officially reinstated a popular dipping sauce on its menu, though the details of its return are sure to strike both sweet and sour notes among fans.

On Monday, April 27, Wendy's officially brought back its popular Sweet and Sour sauce. The tangy dip was initially discontinued in September 2025. However, by December, the uproar over its removal was so loud that the burger chain announced it would reverse course.

"After nearly seven months of thousands of social media comments, posts and tags demanding its return, the beloved tangy, savory dip is back," Wendy's said in a statement to USA TODAY.

'Sweet and Sour superfan' leads the charge

Leading the charge to get Wendy's to bring back the sauce was content creator and avowed "Sweet and Sour superfan," Jaz Smith.

Back in October, Smith posted a video that has since racked up more than 17,000 likes, saying she was "appalled" to discover that Wendy's would quietly remove her favorite sauce from the menu.

"This is so serious," Smith said in the video. "I think Wendy's has the best sweet and sour, and I'm appalled that they would do such a thing. So this is my plea to Wendy's to bring back sweet and sour."

Giving credit where credit is due, Wendy's enlisted Smith in December to break the news about her successful campaign.

"No dream is ever too big," Smith said in a TikTok video at the time. "You guys, we did it … I had a call with Wendy’s and they agree that the sauce does need to come back. It will take some time to bring back, but there will be some exciting things in the meantime."

Limited time only?

Unfortunately, for superfans of the sauce, the news isn't exclusively sweet.

With its rollout, Wendy's noted that the Sweet and Sour sauce will only be available for a limited time, unless customers band together and "show us how much they love it by ordering the sauce and by liking, commenting and sharing this post" on Instagram.

As of April 27, the post has garnered more than 1,400 likes and over 200 comments.

"I’ve been out of the US for 8 years and did not know this tragic news that sweet and sour isn’t a regular sauce anymore??" wrote one user. "It’s literally my childhood and every child deserves to have their nuggets with sweet and sour."

"This sauce is my roman empire. PLEASE dont get rid of it again," wrote another, followed by two sobbing emojis.

Two users even included a playful threat.

"If you get rid of sweet and sour again i will sit at the door of your headquarters and yowl like a stray cat," wrote one. "I swear if you guys take it back and hurt me like this again this relationship is over," quipped another.

Not all the comments were Sweet and Sour certified, though. Some followers took the opportunity to request the return of another discontinued sauce – ghost pepper ranch.

"I would pretty please like to see ghost pepper ranch return also," wrote a user with a pleading eyes emoji. "I love you guys."

Both Sweet and Sour and Ghost Pepper Ranch, as well as BBQ, were part of an original sauce lineup that was axed in September. Six new sauces were revealed, including Wendy’s Signature, Scorchin’ Hot, Creamy Ranch, Honey BBQ, Honey Mustard and Sweet Chili, Sweet and Sour's de facto replacement.