The battle to remove Popeyes as king of the chicken sandwich is heating up.
KFC is the latest fast food chain to renew its menu with a new chicken sandwich. By the end of February, snack bars across the country will be able to order the new sandwich, which is replacing their current offer.
Owned by Yum Brands Inc, KFC said its Crispy Colonel Sandwich was not “fulfilling our legacy as fried chicken experts,” the company said in a statement.
The new sandwich, which was tested in Orlando earlier this year, is a crunchy double-breaded fillet, served on brioche bread and comes with the Colonel’s classic or spicy mayonnaise and thicker pickles.
“They tested pickles with eight thicknesses and pickles before we landed on our pickles,” said KFC US marketing director Andrea Zahumensky in a statement earlier this year. “And for our perfect brioche bread, we collaborated with six different bakeries and tested more than ten formula reviews to find the right one to embrace the fillet bigger than ever in the right way.”
Popeyes – owned by Restaurant Brands International – unleashed the chicken war in 2019 with a $ 3.99 sandwich that was so popular that it was sold in many restaurants. This has led other chains to seek to compete, including snack bars such as McDonald’s.
Golden Arches announced this week that it will launch three new versions of a crispy chicken sandwich in February. And Shake Shack this week announced a limited edition of a Korean-style chicken sandwich that will be available in stores in the U.S. until April 5.
Korean-style Fried Chick’n will be combined with Korean-style French fries, the company said.
Burger King, also owned by Restaurant Brands International, may also join the fray, as it is testing a “hand-crunched, crispy chicken” sandwich in Arizona, according to restaurant analyst Mark Kalinowski.
The new KFC sandwiches will be available for the first time today in select cities, including Chicago, Kansas City, Louisville, Portland and San Francisco, and by the end of February, all 4,000 KFC locations in the U.S. will have the $ 3 sandwich. , 99, said the company.
“KFC had a good year with same-store sales, better than average sales for chain stores,” said Kalinowski.
But the 68-year-old chain has a lot of competition – and it was knocked off its pedestal as the dominant chicken chain some time ago by Chick Fil A, Kalinowski added.