This week on Nation's Restaurant News the top story was Menu Tracker: New items from Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and Subway. There’s a lot happening on the beverage front these days. Burger King is the latest chain to add cold foam as a beverage option, and it’s also rolling out a cotton candy flavored slush. Chick-fil-A has added cherry berry option to its springtime drinks, Pret A Manger has a new dragon fruit-mango compote to add to iced tea and lemonade, Jack-in-the-Box has a new pineapple shake, Del Taco has a snickerdoodle one, and Sonic Drive-In has one with Oreo cookies and cheesecake.
In other news, Chick-fil-A generated $21.58 billion in sales in 2023, a 14.7% increase over 2022’s $18.81 billion and over 43% over 2021’s $15 billion. According to new data from Technomic Ignite, the chain has essentially doubled its total sales volume since 2018.
In the process, the company has also continued to gain market share in an intensely competitive QSR chicken category. That 14.7% sales growth compares to its closest competitor, Popeyes, which grew sales in 2023 by just over 10%, to $5.51 billion. KFC finished 2023 with $5.17 billion, or 1.7% versus 2022. Notably, Chick-fil-A’s average check is slightly higher than its two biggest competitors, at $13.95, versus $12.65 at KFC, and $12.30 at Popeyes.
See what else was trending on NRN.com this week.