Irene Jiang / Business Insider
- McDonald’s is rolling out a new chicken sandwich across the US in early 2021.
- The fast-food giant has been working on a revamped chicken sandwich over the last year, testing multiple sandwiches.
- McDonald’s new sandwich aims to compete with Popeyes and Chick-fil-A in the chicken sandwich wars.
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McDonald’s is rolling out a new chicken sandwich, as the chain aims to take on rivals such as Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.
On Monday, McDonald’s announced it plans to introduce a new Crispy Chicken Sandwich in the US in early 2021.
“McDonald’s also has significant opportunity to expand its chicken offerings, a category that is growing faster than beef,” the company said in a press release. “This includes leveraging the extraordinary global strength of Chicken McNuggets and the McChicken sandwich, and investing in new line extensions and flavors.”
The company’s plans to roll out a new chicken sandwich have been the subject of speculation within the industry for months.
McDonald’s tested two new chicken sandwiches in December 2019 and January 2020. Franchisees have pushed for McDonald’s to roll out a “competitive” chicken sandwich for more than a year.
"We need to stay focused on coming up with a Chicken Sandwich our customers are going to crave," McDonald's National Owners Association (NOA) — an independent group of franchisees — wrote in an internal message in January. "A chicken sandwich that gives our customers another reason to visit McDonald's. A McDonald's Classic to go with our classic sweet tea."
Last year's supremely successful Popeyes' chicken sandwich launch — as well as Chick-fil-A's continuing success — proved that a high-quality chicken sandwich can drive sales. In the months since, other fast-food chains have been playing catch up. Wendy's debuted a new chicken sandwich in late October, and Church's Chicken rolled out its first-ever chicken sandwich around the same time.