Arby’s Raises the Heat in the Chicken Sandwich Wars
Fry the bird or get left behind
When Popeye’s debuted its fried chicken sandwich in August 2019, it didn’t just cause a stir — it triggered a full-scale battle that sucked in many of the biggest fast-food brands.
Since the arrival of that fateful sandwich — which was so popular it sold out across America — Chick-fil-A, Burger King, McDonald’s, Taco Bell (was it a taco or a sandwich though?), Wendy’s and more have all thrown their own variations into the ring, desperate to claim the crown in the so-called Chicken Sandwich Wars. And while a lot has changed in the following two years, the war is still rumbling on.
The reasons behind the continued rise of the category are two-fold. Firstly, consumers have eaten it up, and then some. In 2020, around 2.5 billion fried chicken sandwiches were ordered from restaurants in the U.S. More recent data from April 2021 showed that nearly 65% of the general American population had ordered a fried chicken sandwich in the past six months. The overall sales of the category have grown an incredible 420% since the start of 2020. The other reason is that the sandwiches give each brand moments of marketing buzz and chances to fire shots at each other. KFC went as far as to place advertising billboards next to rival’s restaurants that stated, “We make the…
