Chick-fil-A officially launches its new Spicy Chicken Sandwich today, the first new sandwich to hit the brand's menu boards since its Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich was introduced in 1989.
The new Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich is hand-breaded, seasoned with a fiery blend of several peppers, pressure-cooked in 100 percent refined peanut oil and served on a toasted buttered bun with dill pickle chips. The Spicy Chicken Sandwich starts at $2.99 — about 25 cents more than the Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich — and is also offered in a "deluxe" version that includes lettuce, tomato and Pepper Jack cheese for $3.59.
"Our Spicy Chicken Sandwich offers a unique, well-balanced and 'cravable' spicy flavor that is perfect for our growing customer constituency that enjoys spicy food," said William F. "Woody" Faulk, Chick-fil-A's vice president of brand strategy and design, who is responsible for the chain's menu strategy.
Customers can temper or enhance the spicy flavor of the sandwich by adding ranch dressing or lettuce and tomato to help lower the temperature, or Pepper Jack cheese or Buffalo sauce to turn up the heat.
More than 1 million customers across the country received a free Spicy Chicken Sandwich last week during a special reservation-only Premiere Week event at the chain's stand-alone and mall restaurants.
In addition, the chain market-tested the sandwich in Jacksonville, Fla., and Baltimore, and then expanded the test to include its restaurants in California last spring. Customers gave the sandwich a 4.4 out of 5 rating on overall taste, and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich continues to account for at least 6 percent of overall sales at the test restaurants more than a year later. This figure is similar to the percentage of sales garnered by Chick-fil-A Kid's Meals.
Considering the capital investment and marketing expenses required to introduce a totally new sandwich, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich rollout is Chick-fil-A's largest product introduction in 20 years. The rollout requires a number of kitchen equipment additions, including the installation of new pressure cookers and ventilation systems at most restaurants in order to prevent the spicy recipe from crossing over to other menu items.
Chick-fil-A is supporting the sandwich rollout with one of its most aggressive marketing campaigns in chain history, including the purchase of rare television and radio ad buys in key markets across the country. The company also is using online marketing campaigns to promote the sandwich. One TV ad features cows around the city mooing loudly in order to announce the new sandwich.
