Wingstop will sell chicken sandwiches available in any of the brand’s 11 signature flavors at 60 U.S. restaurants.
“The Wingstop Chicken Sandwich can be hand sauced-and-tossed in fans’ favorite flavors, ranging from sweet to super spicy, and everything in between,” a spokesperson said.
The limited time offer will be added to the menus of Wingstop locations in Columbus, Ohio, Fresno, California, Las Vegas, Nevada and Orlando, Florida. Customers in these test markets will have access to a promotion for a free sandwich during the first week of testing.
The chicken sandwiches feature a hand sauced chicken breast topped with pickles on a buttery toasted bun. The chicken breast can be tossed in a choice of 11 flavors, Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild, Spicy Korean Q, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Louisiana Rub and Mango Habanero.
It retails for $7.99 as a combo including fries, drink and dip or a la carte for $5.49.
Wing price deflation
The chicken sandwich news comes as Wingstop announced significant wing price deflation. The spot market for wings reached a record $3.22 per pound last year, but now, it’s decreased to $1.64 per pound.
Earlier this year, Alex Kaleida, the CFO for Wingstop predicted that chicken wing prices would stabilize by the second half of 2022, stating that “We believe the worst is behind us.”
Despite this, the brand continues to look for opportunities to both secure a steadier supply of chicken and avoid the volatility of chicken prices. Besides testing chicken sandwiches, the brand launched Thighstop and examined a move to whole bird purchases in 2021.
In addition, the brand is considering buying or building a poultry complex of their own.
“In our scenario, Wingstop could help set up with the initial capitalization, but then the co-op would then acquire any asset from Wingstop in that scenario, which then allows us to continue to maintain our asset-light model that many of you have come to appreciate today,” Kaleida said during the Wingstop Investor Day held on May 17.
