By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-16 22:37:01 | Updated at 2025-01-21 00:53:24
4 days ago
The chicken sandwich wars being fought by America's fast food chains have a new combatant.
El Pollo Loco is going head to head with rival chicken chains like Popeyes in testing out its own chicken sandwich.
The Mexican-style eatery announced it created an all-new chicken sandwich to roll out at select El Pollo Loco restaurants.
CEO Liz Williams confirmed the upcoming sandwich at the annual ICR Conference earlier this week.
The test comes nearly 15 years after the restaurant discontinued its line of grilled chicken sandwiches.
'El Pollo Loco has offered chicken sandwiches in the past, and it's one of the items our fans have requested to add to the menu,' El Pollo Loco said in an email to DailyMail.com.
'We are currently in the development stages and testing a number of concepts.'
Williams explained that El Pollo Loco plans to drive innovation on its 2025 menu, which is currently in the second year of a three-year turnaround plan.
El Pollo Loco announced it would test an all-new chicken sandwich nearly 15 years after discontinuing its line of grilled chicken sandwiches
This year, the company will be working on 'making the brand more modern, relevant and youthful.'
The chicken wars have been simmering for years, with El Pollo Loco battling KFC over their competing promotions back in 2009.
KFC emerged victorious due to a sales slump at El Pollo Loco, according to CBS News.
The war flared up again in 2019 after Popeyes launched a fried chicken sandwich, according to Restaurant Business.
Its popularity grew after Chick-fil-A claimed the sandwich was originally its idea in an August 2019 post.
Popeyes customers nonetheless lined up for its version, helping the chain see a 38 percent sales jump during its 2019 fourth quarter.
By 2020, fast food chains like Fatburger and Wendy's joined the war with their own chicken sandwiches.
Other chains to add chicken sandwiches to their menus included Shake Shack, McDonald's and Burger King.
The chicken sandwich wars picked up in 2019 after Popeyes introduced a fried chicken sandwich
Today, one of the prime competitors is McDonald's limited-time Chicken Big Mac.
Restaurant chains went all out in celebrating National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day on November 9, 2024.
Burger King offered a free Royal Crispy Sandwich to its reward members who spent $5 or more.
Popeyes also gave away its free classic, spicy, or ghost pepper chicken sandwiches to customers who spent at least $10 on an order made through its app for mobile order pick-up or delivery.
Other restaurants that offered special deals included Jack in the Box, Jollibee, and Wingstop.
'Chicken sandwiches are very popular with consumers, so it is not surprising that [El Pollo Loco] is testing them,' retail expert Neil Saunders, from Global Data, told DailyMail.com.
'There are load of chicken sandwiches out there from rival chains, so El Pollo Loco will arguably have to do something interesting to stand out and really move the dial.'
Ell Pollo Loco said in its November 2024 earnings report that it took in $120.4 million in total revenue during the 13-week period ending September 25, 2024.
Ell Pollo Loco is 'currently in the development stages and testing a number of concepts,' the company said
However, its $6.2 million in profit was a drop compared to the $9.2 million it made in the same period a year prior.
On December 16, 2024, analysts raised their earnings estimates for 2025 and expected the restaurant chain to have 12.9 percent earnings growth, according to Yahoo Finance.
El Pollo Loco is also pitching in to help individuals affected by the California wildfires.
CEO Williams confirmed that all the chain's team members were safe and none of its restaurants were destroyed, adding that some locations suffered power outages, according to Restaurant Business.
El Pollo Loco has been serving meals to first responders and donated more than 700 meals to emergency crews.
