Food & Beverage

2021 'Year of the Chicken' continues with KFC US sandwich launch

KFC is putting its claws into the ring (along with some pickles) in the battle for supremacy in the fabled chicken sandwich wars.

KFC is downplaying its chicken sandwich launch in light of events in Washington D.C. yesterday, the brand said. (Photo provided)

January 7, 2021 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

The Chinese Zodiac indicates 2021 is the year of the ox, but in the U.S. at Day No. 7 of this new year, it's shaping up to be the year of the chicken, at least when it comes to QSR sandwich launches. Today, KFC is officially launching what it says is its best chicken sandwich to date, following a successful test in Orlando last year.

Already, just this first week of 2021, McDonald's, Sonic and fast casual chain, Shake Shack, announced new fried chicken sandwiches, and now comes the quick-service maestro of all things chicken itself, KFC, with its take on the much-loved American sandwich staple. Of course, all this poultry pandemonium started back a few years ago with the highly lucrative chicken sandwich wars between Popeyes and Chick-fil-A.

The newest KFC sandwich is available starting today and will be officially on the menu at all 4,000 of the brand's outlets nationally by the end of February, according to a news release. The concoction feature a substantial quarter-pound of all-white meat that's double-breaded Extra Crispy on a toasted brioche bun, with what the company said are "thicker, crispier" pickles and mayo or spicy sauce.

"We tested the new KFC Chicken Sandwich in Orlando last spring, and we nearly doubled our sales expectations, so we knew that we had a winner," KFC U.S. CMO Andrea Zahumensky, said in the release. "Many customers hadn't considered KFC as a part of the chicken sandwich conversation, but anyone who tastes this sandwich will know, without a doubt, that we're playing to win."

To get an idea of the absolute seriousness of this chicken sandwich competition, KFC revealed some of the steps in its painstaking sandwich creation process, including tests of pickles with eight variations of thickness and collaboration with six different bakeries on more than 10 recipes for the right bun.

KFC's website is updating daily to show customers where the sandwich is being brought on to the menu, beginning with select restaurants in Chicago, Louisville, Portland and Seattle. The sandwich comes either a la carte for $3.99 or as part of a combo meal for $6.99

But KFC still said it is not rolling out all the stops on this sandwich release as it had originally planned, given Wednesday's insurrection in Washington, D.C. involving supporters of current U.S. President Donald Trump, during which at least one person was killed and both houses of Congress were stormed.

"We realize the poor timing of this given current events unfolding," a brand spokeswoman said in an email to this site, saying that the company was reining in its planned sandwich launch announcement for today.

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.