As part of the now infamous and ongoing chicken wars, Burger King (NYSE: QSR) plans to enter the battle with the introduction a new type of breaded chicken sandwich to all its restaurants in order to attract chicken lovers to its fast food restaurant locations. How will Burger King stand out from all the other competitors in the now crowding chicken wars: hand-breaded chicken on site at restaurants.
The restaurant claims that consumers no longer prefer to have "burger-joint-quality" chicken, and instead would like to have chicken that runs in higher competition with other restaurants and companies.
Ellie Doty, chief marketing officer of Burger King North America, stated in a press release: "What if hand-breading were to chicken what flame-grilling is to burgers? That's been our guiding filter to bring our delicious chicken sandwich to guests in a way only BK can."
The company has been putting together these particular types of chicken sandwiches since 2019 and testing it out since 2020. The sandwich comes in more than one variety, spicy or original, and is served with thickly cut white meat chicken breast, fresh bread, and juice on the inside.
Amid the chicken wars, Burger King is going against Popeyes as one of its top competitors, which is owned by the same parent company Restaurant Brands International. Some of its other key competitors include McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Kentucky Fried Chicken (NYSE: YUM), and Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK). On top of this fierce level of rivalry that Burger King is facing, Wendy's has most recently introduced a "new and improved" chicken sandwich that will come about in October.
Although Burger King has been waiting a long time for the release of this particular sandwich, it seems as though many factors come into play when it comes to its level of popularity as well as its success within the fast food industry. It remains questionable as to whether the level of competition among other fast food chains will suffice or whether Burger King's new idea will simply fade away with time.