On Monday, the company announced
three versions of a new
chicken sandwich, which will be available nationally on February 24: The Crispy Chicken Sandwich, topped with pickles and served on a potato roll, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which adds a spicy pepper sauce, and the Deluxe Chicken Sandwich, which comes with lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. McDonald's told investors in November to expect a
new chicken sandwich this year.
The new products, along with
faster drive-thrus and
other changes, could help McDonald's draw more traffic to its restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
Prior to the pandemic, the company was losing customers to fast casual chains and higher-end burger joints. The number of transactions at its US restaurants that have been open for at least 13 months slipped 1.9% in 2019, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That year, McDonald's franchise operators
warned that the chain needed a better chicken sandwich to win customers back. "JFK called for a man on the moon," they wrote in a letter that summer. "Our call should be a category leading chicken sandwich."
The burger chain, which already serves chicken nuggets and the McChicken sandwich nationally, has since
tested fried chicken sandwiches in regional markets.
And during a November webcast for investors, Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald's USA, said that "a much anticipated, delicious, new crispy chicken sandwich" would hit US menus this year.
Chicken is a good bet for McDonald's, he explained.
"Globally, the chicken category is almost twice the size of beef,"
he said at the time. "It is growing faster and represents a significant opportunity," he said. "Developing a reputation for great chicken represents one of our highest aspirations. We want customers to choose McDonald's for chicken."
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