- Chicken tenders are the new focus for fast-food chains, replacing chicken sandwiches.
- Chicken tenders have driven growth for chains like Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane’s.
- KFC just launched tenders to capitalize on the growing demand.
Few things evoke childhood memories, like biting into a crispy, crunchy chicken tender. Juicy chicken-breast meat coated in golden-fried breading and dunked in creamy comeback sauce or sweet honey mustard — it’s comfort food at its best.
Fast-food chains know it, and they’re going all in. 2025 is poised to be the year of the chicken tender, driven by Gen Z’s appetite.
Five decades after its first iteration at a Manchester, New Hampshire restaurant, the humble chicken tender has come a long way from a kid’s menu staple and mall food-court must-have. It is key to growth at international chicken chains like Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, and Raising Cane’s.
As the “chicken sandwich wars” that dominated the industry in the early 2020s cool off, chains are now preparing for the chicken-tender battle.
Chicken is a huge area of opportunity for fast-food brands
Chicken’s grip on the fast-food industry has tightened in recent years.
Its perceived health benefits compared to beef, its comparatively low cost, and its popularity among Gen Z — a key demographic for fast-food chains — have helped drive sales across the industry.
The growth has also been fueled by the chicken-sandwich wars. In August 2019, Popeyes launched a new fried chicken sandwich, which Business Insider called “juicy, crispy” with “well-balanced flavors.” When the burger sparked a frenzy among diners and completely sold out within two weeks, other chains took note.
Between 2019 and 2021, over twenty chains, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Sonic, and Shake Shack, rolled out new chicken sandwiches, Restaurant Business reported.
Popeyes’ earnings reports underscored the success of its chicken sandwich. Its same-store sales grew throughout 2020, increasing 19.7% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year, Restaurant Business reported.
US-based fast-food chicken franchises as a whole saw market growth of 8.4% between 2018 and 2023, Restaurant Business and IBISWorld reported. Chicken sales also surged by 11% in 2022, with the total revenue from leading chicken chains like Chick-fil-A and Popeyes rising from $27 billion in 2018 to about $44 billion in 2022.
Chains are now eyeing chicken tenders as the next battleground in the chicken wars
Restaurant Business reported that chicken tenders were ranked higher than sandwiches among younger generations, citing a consumer survey conducted by Revenue Management Solutions.
Businesses have banked on the idea, too.
Raising Cane’s — a chain that notably only sells chicken tenders and a few sides like coleslaw and Texas toast — is now one of the fastest-growing fast-food brands in the country. The chain generated more than $2.3 billion in revenue during the first half of 2024, Bloomberg reported, marking a 30% jump from the previous year.
KFC is the latest chain to get on board. It released a new recipe for its original chicken tenders on October 18, hoping to spark what the chain called the “chicken tender battle.”
“The chicken wars began five years ago with the chicken sandwich, but that’s old news,” the chain said in a statement prior to the new menu item’s release.
“We know consumers crave bold flavor, and chicken tenders are a familiar favorite,” Catherine Tan-Gillespie, the chief marketing officer and chief development officer for KFC US, added in a statement.
KFC is also leaning into value, another focus for consumers and brands amid fast-food price hikes: A three-piece combo of KFC’s new chicken tenders starts at $5.
In an apparent bid to incite competition, KFC also released a new commercial that depicts a medieval battle scene to determine which chain has the best chicken tenders.
Beyond KFC and other chicken chains like Chick-fil-A and Popeyes, there might be another contender: McDonald’s has also reportedly been testing its own chicken tenders at some locations after they disappeared from menus during the COVID-19 pandemic, though the brand has not commented on a nationwide rollout.
McDonald’s did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The craze has reached restaurant dining rooms and grocery stores
The chicken-tender war isn’t only confined to fast-food menus. Casual dining chains like Chili’s think they can conquer fast-food competitors with their own versions of chicken tenders.
“Fried chicken is one of the fastest-growing segments — especially with a younger consumer that prefers boneless fried chicken,” Chili’s chief marketing officer George Felix told Business Insider.
The chain’s chicken tenders have been a fixture on menus since the ’90s, but they were revamped in December 2022 “to better fit with our guests’ preferences,” Felix said.
They are “a grown-up version of a typical fast-food tender,” Felix said, due to flavor options like Nashville Hot and Honey Chipotle.
At grocery stores, chicken brands like Perdue also market a variety of chicken tenders, including gluten-free organic tenders and raw chicken tenderloins, to cater to a range of customers.
“It’s not just the chicken tender of your childhood,” a Perdue spokesperson told BI at the New York City Wine & Food Festival on October 20.
“You have all the different parts of the premium muscle, or you can get the dark meat and all these different cuts. People are actually using them in more culinary experiences now, too,” they continued, adding that consumers are looking for “elevated” versions of their favorite childhood foods.
As chicken tenders gear up for a takeover, chicken sandwich wars are already yesterday’s headlines.
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