The most popular item in the hamburger business is chicken.
At least 10 major fast-food chains in the United States have introduced fried chicken sandwiches in the past three months, or will soon do so. Many of those who sell the new poultry items are better known as hamburger chains, including McDonald’s Corp., Shake Shack Inc. and Jack in the Box Inc.
Restaurant operators, struggling with the slowdown and restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, seek to capture consumer enthusiasm for crispy breaded chicken sandwiches. That fervor helped transform Chick-fil-A Inc. into one of the nation’s top fast-food chains over the past decade, and made Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc.’s offering a social media sensation after its 2019 debut.
The chicken sandwich war, as industry competitors describe it, means that customers have many options – like a Korean-style iteration at the Shake Shack, a version of McDonald’s topped with hot pepper sauce and a new KFC that offers that the chain calls it “the best chicken sandwich ever. “The sandwich craze can also bring lasting changes to the restaurant business, with owners spending thousands of dollars on new equipment to prepare chicken fillets to compete for what some franchisees say is the future of restaurants.
Shake Shack started selling its new fried chicken sandwich at South Korean hamburger restaurants in the fall, before making its US debut this month. One of the first limited-time items he put on menus during the pandemic was a spicy chicken sandwich, also in the fall.