Burger King is finally launching its new chicken sandwich soon, and it comes with a free Whopper
- Burger King is releasing a new breaded chicken sandwich.
- BK might sell other chicken items, inspired by the success of sister brand Popeye's.
- Sandwiches purchased through the app will come with a free Whopper.
Burger King is releasing the new Hand-Breaded Ch'King sandwich on June 3, the chain announced.
The sandwich will come in two versions, Ch'King and Spicy Ch'King, with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and signature sauce on a potato bun. Burger King says it has been testing the recipe for two years, and now it's finally here to compete with the swath of other crispy chicken sandwiches on fast food menus.
Beginning June 3, a Ch'King sandwich ordered through Burger King's app or website will come with a free Whopper.
"Our guests said it best, our hand-breaded Ch'King sandwich is our greatest yet," Burger King North America CMO Ellie Doty said in a statement. "We said we would create a delicious hand-breaded chicken sandwich that was worth the wait, we just didn't anticipate that it would turn out quite this good."
In February, Doty told Insider that the sandwich will be different from others on the market because it is breaded and fried in stores.
Other chains have also introduced competitors to Chick-fil-A and Popeyes, both of which sell wildly popular crispy chicken sandwiches with pickles. Burger King may be uniquely positioned to grow in the chicken sandwich space because it is owned by Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Popeyes.
In January, KFC introduced a crispy chicken sandwich now available nationwide, and Jimmy John's dropped its own version of the chicken sandwich in a Super Bowl ad earlier this year. Burger King announced the new chicken sandwich coming later this year, and McDonald's latest chicken sandwich has been praised as a worthy competitor to Chick-fil-A. Taco Bell just announced the return of the Naked Chicken Chalupa, with chalupa filling served inside a fried chicken shell.
Burger King is also exploring the possibility for more chicken dishes in the future, Brittany Chang reported for Insider. "We see what our sister brand Popeye's did and we believe the stakes have changed around a guest's expectation for chicken" Doty said.
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