Fried chicken skins made by consumer-packaged goods company Chick N’ Skin repurpose a part of the bird normally discarded during processing into a low-carb snack for consumers.
“We work directly with our chicken processing company,” said Edward Chien, President of Chick N’ Skin. “They portion out the chicken pieces they receive for the retailers or for wholesaling, but they save the chicken skins for us as more of a trash product.”
This results in a chip-like product that is deep fried and seasoned, like the process used to make pork rinds. Fried chicken skins can help reduce food waste by using an often-discarded part of the chicken, the Chicken N’ Skin website says, which calls the product “an excellent alternative to carb-heavy snacks and perfect for sharing on game day or taking along on hikes.”
Flavors from around the world
The fried chicken skins retail for $19.99 for a four pack or 37.99 for an eight pack, in a choice of original, cluckin’ hot, salt & pepper, Jamaican jerk, chili lime, cheese, BBQ bacon, buffalo wing or salt and vinegar flavors.
“We try to offer flavors from dishes around the world on our chicken skins,” Chien explained. “Our focus is trying to take the best dishes and apply that to our chicken skins for consumers.”
The product is currently sold on most major eCommerce platforms, including Amazon.
From food stand to wholesaler
The southern Californian company started in 2017 as a food stand at the 626 Night Market in Los Angeles and can now be seen at other festivals and events in the area.
“We are very focused on doing events and hope to open up a kiosk in the future, similar to Popcornopolis, where we can sell a fresh product directly to consumers,” Chien said.
Chick N’ Skin is also currently building a facility in Los Angeles, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year and will allow it to scale up to start wholesaling the fried chicken skins into larger retailers.
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