(Photo: Paul Sableman, St. Louis, Missouri, via Wikimedia Commons)

Fast-food chain Wendys Co WEN placed a bet big on a new breakfast menu option, but the timing of the launch coincided with the very early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly one year later, sales are "quite remarkable", Wendy's President and CEO Todd Penegor said on CNBC's "Mad Money".

Breakfast Update: Wendy's introduced its breakfast menu options nationwide on March 2, 2020, and one year later morning routines remain "completely disrupted," Penegor said. Nevertheless, breakfast sales still accounted for around 7% of total sales in 2020.

Breakfast sales in the fourth quarter benefited from repeat purchases and this is "quite remarkable and super encouraging", the CEO said. Wendy's expects its sale mix of breakfast to increase to 10% of all sales by the end of 2022.

Digital Initiatives: Wendy's is hoping that its new digital loyalty program can help drive further digital growth. The company is modeling 10% of all sales to come from digital channels this year.

By contrast, the company was previously assuming it won't hit the 10% level until 2024.

"What we're doing is driving a lot of active users into our app and people are engaging in the app," he said. "We're seeing a lot more mobile ordering and it's really because there's a benefit."