2019 was the year of the Chicken Sandwich Wars. Experts are predicting 2020 will be the year of Nashville hot chicken and boneless wings. Both food items were predicted as top sellers for the coming year.
Nashville hot chicken spices things up
Nashville hot chicken landed on top trend lists for 2020 for both Yelp and media company PopSugar.
“Where last year, we saw healthy and mindful eating options like the Impossible Burger take center stage, this year Yelpers are searching for vibrant, colorful dishes to put on their plates,” said Yelp trend expert Tara Lewis.
The user-review platform saw mentions of Nashville hot chicken skyrocket in 2019.
The Nashville hot chicken sandwich originated at Tennessee restaurant Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack in the 1930s. Quick service restaurant KFC currently sells its own Nashville hot chicken option, which it describes as “a spicy bird with a savory burn.”
Boneless wing bonanza
Buffalo wings are a staple of American culture, but boneless wings are now trending upwards with consumers.
Millennials – born between 1981 and 1996 – overwhelmingly prefer boneless wings made of chicken breast to actual chicken wings.
This diverse demographic has money to spend and is expected to play a major role in driving future food trends. Millennials want food that is convenient, portable and easy to share with friends.
Chain restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings – which serves 100 million boneless wings a year – debuted a new recipe in 2019 that they say is a “bigger, juicier, tastier boneless wing.”
“It’s really not the wings themselves that hold the attraction; it’s their highly flavored, unpretentious, sharable quality,” Restaurant Hospitality explained. The website named boneless wings one of their top food and beverage trends for 2020 and beyond.
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