Chick-fil-A has a passionate fanbase. The company's customers will camp out in a new store's parking lot to celebrate the chain's expansion and help spread the word.
The popular fast-food chain essentially predated the chicken sandwich boom that Restaurant Brands International's (QSR) Popeyes kicked off with its revised chicken sandwich. You could argue, in fact, that Popeyes more or less knocked off the classic Chick-fil-A Original Chicken Sandwich with its offering.
Related: McDonald's menu adds a new take on a classic entree nationwide
The popular chain, which closes on Sundays, shares its recipe on its website.
"Our original recipe for almost 60 years. A boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, freshly breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttery bun with dill pickle chips," the company posted.
Popeyes follows almost the same recipe but does add mayonnaise.
Chick-fil-A's recipe, which comes in at about half the calories of the Popeyes version, has been the cornerstone of its menu. Chicken, not just the Classic Chicken Sandwich, has been the entire focus of the company's lunch and dinner menus.
The chain does not offer fish, shrimp, or burgers. It's a chicken-based menu, and Chick-fil-A has just shared that it's making a major change to its chicken.
Image source: Shutterstock
Chick-fil-A takes a risk
Any time a famous brand makes a change to a classic product, it takes a risk. The most famous example of that, of course, was when Coca-Cola (KO) swapped out its classic formula for New Coke.
That led to a massive consumer backlash which forced the company to bring back Classic Coke alongside the new version, which was phased out a few years later. Many people believe — although Coca-Cola executives have denied it — that the entire situation was a marketing gimmick.
Coke's effort became a sort of "you don't know what you've got until it's gone" campaign. People who loved Coke, but had taken it for granted reengaged with the brand. In that case, it did end well for the brand, but Coca-Cola did risk driving customers to PepsiCo or other rivals.
Chick-fil-A is taking that risk as it makes a change to its chicken, although it's certainly not trumpeting the change in massive ad campaigns as Coke did.
Chick-fil-A changes its chicken
Chic-fil-A will transition from antibiotic-free chicken, which it has used since 2014, to a new standard: No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM). The company explained the move (sort of) on its website in the FAQ section.
"To maintain a supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us, Restaurants in the U.S. and Puerto Rico will shift from chicken raised with No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) to chicken raised with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting in the spring of 2024. Canadian Restaurants will transition from chicken raised without antibiotics to chicken raised with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine starting in the spring of 2024," the company shared on its website.
There are some very specific rules around using NAIHM chickens.
"NAIHM allows for the use of chicken antibiotics if the animal and those around it were to become sick. If the animal does become ill, it will be treated with antibiotics not intended for humans. In accordance with FDA requirements, all antibiotics must be cleared from the chicken's system before it is considered available for the chicken supply," Chick-fil-A added.
The fast-food chain has cited supply chain and its ability to get NAE chickens as the reason for the change. Not every chain shares its product sourcing, but McDonald's has been using "chicken raised without antibiotics important to human medicine," All About Feed reported.
Popeyes and Burger King have used NAE chicken in their various chicken products since 2019.
