Food & Beverage
Chick-fil-A scoring big in Chicken Sandwich Wars ... for now
Today's question for readers: Are we tired of hearing about chicken sandwiches yet? Of course not.
February 23, 2021
Just as all hens would love to be the chicken who lay the golden egg, QSR brands are striving to create the golden chicken sandwich. Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's, for example, debuted their offerings last week in the battle of the bird-bedecked buns, and Taco Bell joined Monday with its Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco.
With so many brands in the mix, it can be challenging to keep track of who is leading the pack, but Revenue Management Solutions is doing just that with a 1,020-person survey of QSR customers, according to a company spokeswoman. The survey asked diners to rate the chicken contenders and will poll them again in the next few weeks. So far, Chick-fil-A seems to be on top.
Chick-fil-A wins for awareness, crave-worthiness
Those famed "eat mor chickin'" cows are likely celebrating the news that as far as chicken sandwich awareness and craving go, Chick-fil-A scored the highest of all QSRs. Revenue Management Solutions points out that this is noteworthy particularly since Chick-fil-A has fewer locations than competitors like McDonald's, which has five times as many U.S. locations as Chick-fil-A, and Burger King, which has nearly three fold.
Customers living in the suburbs put Popeyes as their second choice, rather than McDonald's, which was No. 2 in more urban areas, even though it hasn't officially introduced its latest chicken sandwich contender, yet.
As far as the ROI of the chicken sandwich, the survey found that QSR customers spent less on chicken sandwich meals than beef burger meals. In fact, three in five respondents said they spent less than $5.99 on a chicken sandwich meal, while just one in two said they spent that much on a beef burger meal. Other findings included:
- Over 70% said chicken sandwiches should be cheaper than beef burgers.
- 51% reported buying chicken as a more affordable option.
- 46% labeled chicken a better value than beef.
Finally, when it came to who was spending more at QSRs now than before the pandemic hit the U.S., the Zs have it — as in Gen Z. Revenue Management Solutions said a possible reason was that this generation is eating less frequently at casual dining brands thanks to the pandemic and may be turning to quick-service to fill that void.
Gen Z is also the "spendy-est" generation when it comes to quick-service meals. In fact, the group spent more than any other group on quick-service meals with 57% saying they spend more now when visiting QSRs than before the pandemic.. This compares to just 46% of millennials, 38% of Gen X-ers and a measly 31% of Baby Boomers.
