Quick-service restaurants specializing in fried chicken, not to mention other fast-food chains including hamburger, taco, and pizza specialists, have introduced chicken sandwiches to great fanfare over the past couple of years, leading to the current so-called “chicken sandwich wars.” Experts trace the start of the war to a skirmish between an early Popeyes sandwich and one from second-to-market Chick-fil-A back in 2019. The number of new offerings has proliferated since then, and the battle has never been more heated than it is now.
Merchandise has been one of the weapons used to stand out in this ultra-competitive landscape:
- A&W capitalized on the chicken sandwich wars last month to raise awareness for its chicken tenders—it also has a chicken tender sandwich—with a Chicken Tender Lovin’ Valentine’s Day promotion. The effort centered on a contest in which consumers could win prizes including a chicken tender–shaped body pillow, chicken tender lip balm made with A&W fryer oil, and other novelty goods.
- McDonald’s introduced its Crispy Chicken Sandwich in February with an accompanying capsule of merchandise available at a microsite called CHKNDrop.com. The collection, which was available for about $5.00 (approximately the same price as the sandwich alone), included a limited-edition hoodie, a new song by Tay Keith on a seven-inch vinyl record, and early access to the new sandwich. The chain also launched two chicken breakfast sandwiches at the same time.
- Popeyes introduced a chicken sandwich–themed ugly Christmas sweater with UglyChristmasSweater.com in late 2019, early in the sandwich war era. It sold out quickly at $44.95. Around the same time, the chain also debuted 10 apparel and accessories items resembling its maroon and orange uniforms and, shortly thereafter, a powdered sugar–look “beignet camo” to support the introduction of that taste treat.
- Going back to 2017, before the chicken sandwich wars, KFC included a Zinger chicken sandwich–shaped piece of real meteorite for $20,000 as part of a broader collection of novelty merchandise. This was a relatively early foray into the now-common novelty merchandise craze on the part of quick-service restaurant chains.
Chicken sandwiches have also debuted at Jimmy John’s, Church’s, Shake Shack, Whataburger, Jack-in-the-Box, Taco Bell, Zaxby’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King, among others, many of them recent introductions.
Several of these chains, along with other chicken- and non-chicken-based QSR and fast casual restaurants, oversee novelty merchandise programs, often skewing toward the offbeat, conversation-starting end of the spectrum. They sell products, typically limited, to support their brands overall, as well as developing additional drops for holidays or specific menu items. Some of these programs have been ongoing for several years. (See our past coverage here and here.)
Restaurants need all the tools they can get, merchandise included, to win the battle of the chicken sandwich.
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