News

Chick-fil-A kicks breakfast up a notch

December 19, 2010

As record-low temperatures set in across the country, Chick-fil-A is adding plenty of heat to cope. The chain will begin offering the Spicy Chicken Biscuit as part of its breakfast menu beginning Jan. 10.

The item features Chick-fil-A’s signature hand-breaded boneless breast of chicken seasoned with a fiery blend of peppers and spices, pressure cooked in 100-percent refined peanut oil and served on a made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuit. They are being sold for $2.25 as an entrée, and are also available as part of a breakfast meal, with hash browns or other side item and a beverage, starting at $4.09.

In celebration of the new addition, Chick-fil-A will be giving away free Spicy Chicken Biscuits nationally from Jan. 3-8. Customers who want to take advantage of this deal can sign up online to reserve a free biscuit at participating restaurants.

Once reservations are confirmed, they can be printed and then redeemed the week of Jan. 3-8 during breakfast hours, 6:30-10:30 a.m. Printed reservations will be accepted both in-store and at the drive-thru.

Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand strategy and design, said the item rollout makes sense, as the demand for spicier menu items is up. Customers began asking for a spicy version of the chain’s Chicken Biscuit when the Spicy Chicken Sandwich hit the lunch and dinner menu lineup in June.

"The Spicy Biscuit will give our customers the option to start their day with something truly different, and certainly a whole lot 'hotter,' as we continue to expand and vary our breakfast menu. The Spicy Biscuit will give customers another reason to visit Chick-fil-A for breakfast – a daypart that continues to grow,” Faulk said.

Faulk added that Chick-fil-A's new item also gives customers another option to break up the habitual breakfast routine. According to marketing research firm NPD Group, 48 percent of people say their breakfast choices are driven by routine, with "most consumers looking at breakfast as part of a ritual for getting started in the morning. It's the only meal when eating the same food every day is not only common but acceptable." 

NPD Group found that breakfast sales have accounted for 60 percent of growth in foodservice traffic over the past five years. Two of the fastest growing menu items restaurant visitors order are specialty coffee and breakfast sandwiches, both of which contributed to the breakfast daypart growth.