Food & Beverage

Layne's Chicken Fingers adds first new menu item since 1994

Provided

February 22, 2022

Texas-based Layne's Chicken Fingers has unveiled its first new menu item since 1994 — spicy chicken, according to a press release.

"We are never interested in change for the sake of change alone," Garrett Reed, Layne's CEO, said in a press release. "We would rather offer a set number of absolutely perfected items than constantly roll out hit-and-miss experiments, but we do look closely at the trends, and right now, everyone is looking for bold flavors. In our segment, that means spicy chicken."

Samir Wattar, Layne's COO, said the brand dedicated extensive research to ensure the new item would appeal to existing fans and potential new customers, as well as franchise owners and employees. "The data showed us that we would do well to have a spicy option, so we started researching what was out there," he said. "We found a breading option that fits exactly what we do and allows us to incorporate new spices. We came up with a product we were excited about and tested it with focus groups that included customers, franchisees and employees. Seventy-five percent of the people who tried it said they would absolutely order it again. That was an exciting response, so we rolled the item out to our stores."

Wattar added that the spicy chicken accounts for 20% of all meal-deals sold across Layne's stores.

Reed said Layne's is preparing to roll out a few more new items this year.