Chick-fil-A has built its brand around its famous chicken sandwich. Unlike many of its rivals, it does not have an expansive menu.
The chain offers its iconic fried chicken sandwich, chicken nuggets, and grilled versions of those popular favorites along with side dishes, and salads. Chick-fil-A has shakes, cookies, and brownies — it even sells sausage on its breakfast menu and offers bacon as part of a 'club" variant on its famous chicken sandwich.
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What the chain does not have, however, is beef. There's no hamburger on the menu and Chick-fil-A has actually made that part of its marketing. The company has made the image of cows holding signs reading "Eat More Chickin" famous, with the misspellings ostensibly being because cows aren't great at spelling, but do have decent handwriting.
"In 1995, the phrase “Eat Mor Chikin” first appeared on a billboard in Atlanta, Ga. Painted by a pair of mischievous cows, the phrase kicked off one of the most recognized advertising campaigns in Chick-fil-A history," the company shared on its website. "Fast forward to today, the boisterous bovines are still at it – finding creative ways to encourage humans to put down their burgers and pick up chicken instead."
Not eating burgers (and not selling them) has been the core of the Chick-fil-A brand since its founding in 1967. Now, the chain is testing hamburgers in order to potentially add them to its menu.
Image source: Shutterstock
Chick-fil-A has built its success on chicken
Chick-fil-A has always carried itself as being better than traditional fast food, sort of in a more playful version of how Chipotle has tried to stand out. An unspoken part of the "Eat Mor Chickin" advertising slogan is that the chain is above offering what you can get at any McDonald's (MCD) -), Burger King (QSR) -), or Wendy's (WEN) -).
By making chicken its sole focus, Chick-fil-A has the sort of implied expertise that chains that have added chicken after-the-fact will never achieve. By adding a hamburger, the chain could become more competitive, especially with families where one member may not want chicken, but it also risks making its business less special.
The company may have found a clever way to get around that and be able to sell burgers while not diluting the core Chick-fil-A brand.
Chick-fil-A brand tests hamburgers and bone-in wings
Chick-fil-A operates a virtual store in College Park, MD. Even though the company owns it, and it sells the chain's menu, it's technically not a Chick-fil-A. Instead, it's called Little Blue Menu (a nod to the chain's original menu) and it's selling hamburgers.
"Now available in the Chick-fil-A App and online, through Little Blue Menu guests can order Chick-fil-A favorites alongside new, soon-to-be favorites like wings, burgers, and whatever we cook up next," the chain shared on its website. "Beyond the Chick-fil-A menu, Little Blue Menu offers a variety of items, ranging from smoked bone-in wings to no-fuss burgers, complemented by a selection of sides such as golden-brown onion rings, sweet potato tots and crispy brussels sprouts."
The website for Little Blue Menu makes it clear that it's a sort of Chick-fil-A plus. It also really sells the burgers hard, calling them "the only thing we take seriously. No joke."
The company goes further:
"Because burgers are meant to be a serious business for us and for you. We don't compromise in flavor, and we believe that the finest burger is made with the right ingredients, from trusted vendors, by the people who just get it. The results: a simple but tasty burger that's hard to forget. No fluff, no fuss - just a burger speaking for itself," Chick-fil-A shared.
