Pringles joins chicken sandwich wars with new Wendy's collaboration
Pringles (K) is jumping into the chicken sandwich wars — sort of.
Beginning in June, the stackable potato crisp company will roll out a "Wendy's chicken sandwich" flavor to stores nationwide, the company announced this week.
The Kellogg's-owned brand, which previously partnered with Wendy's (WEN) for a "Baconator" chip last year, upped the ante by including a special code that unlocks a free spicy chicken sandwich through the fast food chain's app.
The limited edition snack — described as a "savory taste of Wendy's spicy fried chicken" — underscores how even snacking companies are gunning for the chicken sandwich crown.
Ever since Popeyes (QSR) emerged in 2019 to challenge Chick-fil-A's chicken sandwich crown — to smashing success — a growing contingent of fast food giants have jumped in with menu items of their own. The ever lengthening list includes McDonald's (MCD), Taco Bell (YUM), KFC, Chick-fil-A, Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, Shake Shack (SHAK) and more.
Back in February, Wendy's revamped its poultry lineup by adding a fried chicken sandwich topped with jalapeño cream cheese, shredded pepper jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese sauce, and jalapeños. But that's not all.
National burger chain Smashburger unveiled its Scorchin’ Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich in April, while fellow burger-maker Burger King rolling out a new hand-breaded sandwich dubbed the "Ch'King" last week.
Poultry sandwiches have become big business for the fast food industry. Between January 2019 and December 2020, online spending on chicken sandwiches across all restaurants combined grew by a staggering 420%, according to Edison Trends.
Meanwhile, snacking has continued to see momentum.
Kellogg announced in its most recent earnings report that snacking habits have accelerated as a result of the pandemic with net sales up 5% year-over-year during that first quarter.
Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193
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