Food & Beverage

Wendy's adds some pop to chicken wars

Wendy's jalapeno chicken popper sandwich. (Provided)

February 18, 2021

Wendy's is using jalapenos to punch up its latest permanent poultry menu offerings — the Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sandwich and salad.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Salad. (Provided)

The sandwich features the brand's spicy chicken fillet topped with jalapeno cream cheese, bacon and a warm cheddar sauce, as well as jalapeno slices and pepper Jack on a bun. The salad starts with a bed of mixed lettuce with spicy chicken, bacon, jalapeno slices, pepper jack, diced tomatoes, jalapeno ranch dressing and jalapeno cheddar croutons, according to a company press release.

In introducing the popper offerings, Wendy's also took a few pot-shots at its competitors, McDonald's and Burger King, who announced this week that their new chicken sandwich offerings were coming soon.

"While everyone else is playing catch up and distracting consumers with stale chicken drops, we are listening and bringing exciting flavors and bold ingredients forward to help fans avoid the McStake of settling for the same boring chicken sandwiches from other fast-food joints," Wendy's CMO Carl Loredo said in the release. "Our new Jalapeño Popper Chicken Sandwich casts a big shadow across the competition and really delivers an enhanced chicken sandwich experience. The innovation on flavor is unlike anything else out there."

To usher in the offerings, Wendy's said from today to Feb. 21, customers may try the sandwich free through Grubhub with no delivery fee on orders of $15 or more.

The brand assured QSRweb in an email that these new offerings were not just limited time items but permanent additions to the menu.

Wendy's is based in Columbus, Ohio, and has more than 6,800 restaurants worldwide.