If you've eaten at a Wendy's fast food joint recently, you've noticed that their restaurants have a bit more customers. Indeed, Wendy's is set to outpace Burger King to claim the number two spot in burger sales (behind the behemoth McDonald's).

What's Wendy's secret? It seems like the company has graduated from asking "where's the beef?" to "what shape should it be?":

After struggling in third place for years, Wendy’s underwent a change in ownership in 2008, after which it spent a year and a half overhauling its menu. The brand undertook extensive consumer tests on every element of its dishes, from potatoes to pickle slices (it opted for crinkle-sliced over plain). One breakthrough came when Wendy’s executives realized that customers perceived their burgers as overly processed because of their square shape. Although they’re actually fresh, their shape was giving them a bad rap among the more discerning diner Wendy’s was trying to court.

Martha C. White of TIME's Moneyland blog has the story: Link (Photo: Paul Vernon/AP)