Fast food companies lean into chicken offerings as popularity skyrockets

Several major fast food companies are leaning into chicken.McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Wendy’s have each indicated in recent months that they are looking to ramp up their offerings of the increasingly popular protein.Fast-food giant McDonald’s on Thursday revealed McCrispy Strips would become a permanent menu item at all participating U.S.restaurants by May 5, something CEO Chris Kempczinski alluded to during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February as he detailed some upcoming plans for its chicken business.The return of the Snack Wrap is also in the works at McDonald’s, with Kempczinski telling analysts and investors at the time that the item would arrive in the U.S.

“along with a few other markets” this year.The chain more recently hinted at the date of the Snack Wrap’s comeback with a social media post that said “snack wraps 0x.14.2025.”McDonald’s is also looking to expand the availability of its McCrispy chicken sandwich from its more than 70 markets to “nearly all” by the end of the year, according to Kempczinski.

As for the Chicken Big Mac, the company plans to “continue to pulse in” that sandwich as a “limited-time-only offering over time,” he said.“We’re excited about the significant opportunity we see within our chicken portfolio and see the potential to add another point of chicken market share by the end of 2026,” Kempczinski said during the February earnings call. Taco Bell, meanwhile, has also been making more moves with chicken. The chain added crispy chicken nuggets to its U.S.menus on Thursday, roughly four months after their first limited-time stint in December.Taco Bell’s nuggets appeared in nearly 1-in-6 Taco Bell orders during that limited run, according to the brand.Their latest reappearance is the “first step in Taco Bell’s plan to add crispy chicken to menus permanently by 2026,” the chain said in mid-April.Taco Bell said the Crispy Chicken Nuggets “will be on menus for a lim...