Chick-fil-A has reached its goal to serve no antibiotics ever (NAE) chicken in all U.S. restaurants.
Chick-fil-A in 2014 announced it was pursuing a commitment to serve only chicken raised without antibiotics nationwide by the end of 2019. Along with supply partners, Chick-fil-A met the milestone early, serving only NAE chicken at every Chick-fil-A restaurant in the United States since May 2019.
The company has more than 2,400 U.S. locations.
“We know consumers care about how their food is made and where it comes from, including the use of antibiotics. Because it was important to our customers, it was important to us,” said Matt Abercrombie, director, menu and packaging. “Chick-fil-A has always been committed to serving customers delicious food made with high quality ingredients and offering No Antibiotics Ever chicken was the next step. Our goal was to pursue the highest standard and partner with the USDA to verify it.”
The transition to no antibiotics ever chicken has required a significant investment by Chick-fil-A and its suppliers.
“As leaders in the chicken industry, we felt that if anyone was going to commit to no antibiotics ever, it should be us. We worked with our suppliers to convert our chicken supply to no antibiotics ever, which was an industry-changing move, as the supply of no antibiotics ever chicken previously did not exist to match our scale,” said Abercrombie.
Chick-fil-A, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest quick service restaurant franchise (based on sales data) to implement No Antibiotics Ever chicken across all restaurants in the U.S.
Research shows that customers were eager for this transition. A 2018 survey by Datassential shows 50% of consumers surveyed say they would be more likely to buy and an additional 31% even said they would pay more for no antibiotics ever chicken.
Beginning in October, packaging in restaurants will reflect its chicken was raised without antibiotics.
