Article

A thing for wings

From QSRs to sports bars, wings are on menus everywhere. Why?

August 26, 2014 by Brenda Rick Smith — Editor, Networld Media Group

Wings are the thing.

Football season is about to kick off, and something about football seems to make Americans crave wings. According to the National Chicken Council, 1.25 billion wings were consumed during the 2014 Super Bowl, up 20 million from the previous year.

Wings are popping up on menus from quick service to sports bars. Beyond the brands that focus either exclusively or nearly exclusively on wings, other brands are experimenting with wings with mixed degrees of success.

While McDonald's Mighty Wing limited-time offer flamed out – prompting a fire sale on stockpiled product – brands such as Wingstop boast year over year same store sales for the past eleven years.

What's behind the trend?

The cost question

With beef prices soaring, now is a great time for restaurants that feature poultry, according to Gary Occhiogrosso, CDO of Trufoods LLC, the holding company for Pudgie's Naked Chicken Co. Pudgie's, known for its skinless "fried" chicken, also features a wing offering.

"With the rising cost of beef, chicken has become a better value protein source on restaurant menus," said Occhiogrosso.

He points to a report from Priceonomics earlier this year that revealed the consumption of chicken is higher than that of beef for the first time in a century.

The right place, at the right time

But cheap chicken can't be the main reason for the ascendance of the once lowly wing. Wing brands have enjoyed strong performances for years, despite the ups and downs of the commodities markets.

"We went through the recession with very little loss of same-store sales," said Sam Ballas of East Coast Wings & Grill. Most wing concepts weathered the recession without the dramatic drops casual dining suffered, he added.

Customers could no longer afford high-end restaurants, and fast food was out of favor, said Ballas. Brands like his were poised to capitalize on the opportunity.

Focus on flavor

Wingstop has also enjoyed steady growth, according to CMO Flynn Dekker. Year over year same-store sales have increased for Wingstop for the past 11 years.

Wings started to shift from appetizer to center of the plate in the past 10 years, said Dekker.

"Those of us that have been in wings for a while have opened up the market for others to follow," he said.

In Dekker's view, that focus on flavor has been key.

"We're not talking about chicken wings. We're talking about flavors," said Dekker. Wingstop currently has 11 signature wing flavors, with two or three more slated to be added in 2015.

Wingstop has never retired a flavor, and recently added its Mango Habanero limited time offer flavor back to the menu due to customer demand.

At East Coast Wings & Grill, guests can "Feel the flavor…taste the heat" by customizing the brand's dozens of flavors  – Bahama Mama, Santa Fe, Bacon Ranch, Bang Bang and more – with their desired heat index, which ranges from "Virgin" to "Volcanic" to "Insanity."

The emphasis on flavor is echoed by other brands, too.

"Frying a chicken wing is relatively simple but the flavor you choose can make it amazing or just OK," said Matt Friedman, CEO of Wing Zone.

Wing Zone has even crowdsourced flavors, recently adding the fan-created flavor Mango Fire.

"Every year we run a contest, The Flavor Face Off, where fans submit their flavor idea and then fans vote on which one is best," said Friedman. "The winning flavor has a chance to be created and added to our list of flavors."

That desire for flavor drives wing lovers in QSR, too, said Ryan Joy, senior director of research and development for Checkers & Rally's Restaurants.

"I've found that my heavy user wants wings that are authentic, real-deal bar food, meaning that they are bone in wings and are spun in high-quality sauce," said Joy.

Differentiating in a crowded market

Speed and convenience also helps Checkers & Rally's differentiate from other purveyors of wings.

"The good news for my brands is that I'm faster than a lot of the local wing places, and here you don't have to get out of your car to pick them up, so we can make it so much easier for customers in QSR," said Joy.

While QSR brands may differentiate from competitors on speed and convenience, fast casual brands tend to differentiate on flavor and quality.

"The real wing connoisseur that's been driving our success is not going to leave dining with us to go eat fast food style," said Ballas.

Dekker isn't threatened by competitors, either. If anything, he said, they help drive business to Wingstop.

"We love it when our competition advertises wings. Our business spikes every time someone goes on TV advertising wings," said Dekker. "It may be another brand advertising, but they are coming to us to satisfy the craving.

On the horizon

Ballas doesn't see wings jetting off into the sunset at any point.

"Wings are going to be another national staple product in fast casual as well as casual dining. Wings will be a staple product like the hot dog and apple pie," said Ballas.

Image courtesy of Krista via Flickr. Some rights reserved.

About Brenda Rick Smith

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Brenda has more than 20 years of experience as a marketing and public relations professional. She invested most of her career telling the story of entrepreneurial non-profit organizations, particularly through social media.

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