With Tenders on 40% of Menus, The “Chicken Wars” Are Officially Here
Iran has (mostly?) resolved, but now America’s fast-food chains have declared war. As beef prices surge, chicken has emerged as a value-conscious battleground, and restaurants are overhauling at a pace not seen in years. KFC fired a shot this week with a sweeping menu revamp — and the fight for America’s protein dollars is only getting started.
- Beef and veal surged 8.6% last year against chicken’s 1.3% — adding to a boom that lifted chicken chain visits as fast-food traffic broadly fell.
- Chicken tenders now appear on ~40% of food-service menus — but bone-in offerings fell 72% as on-the-go eating caught fire.
The front lines: While Chick-fil-A controls 45% of the US limited-service chicken market, every chain below it is trying to close the gap. McDonald’s confirmed the arms race is widening, with hand-breaded chicken items in testing, as Restaurant Brands tightened its tender specs to improve product satisfaction. Even Taco Bell is weighing a permanent crispy chicken addition after limited-run nuggets sold out nationwide in under a week. Welcome to the era of boneless chicken; something Colonel Sanders never saw coming.
