McDonald's Makes a Chicken Sandwich Menu Change a Lot Like Burger King's

Fast-food giant McDonald's wants a bigger piece of the chicken-sandwich craze, which its key rival, Burger King, has gone after as well

For years, every fast-food burger chain wanted to duplicate the success Restaurant Brands International's  (QSR) - Get Free Report Popeye's had with its chicken sandwich. 

That viral craze, which occurred in 2019, coincided with rising beef prices, which made chicken more attractive as a menu item.

DON'T MISS: Burger King Menu Adds a New Kind of Chicken Sandwich

The problem -- and it was a big one -- was that simply taking a big chicken breast, adding some pickles and a little mayo, and putting it on a fluffy bun did not lead to instant lines out the door. 

Popeye's caught lightning in a bottle while McDonald's (MCD) - Get Free Report, Wendy's (WEN) - Get Free Report, and fellow RBI brand Burger King could not deliver the same magic.

That was not for lack of trying. Burger King launched the well-named Ch'King line which was somewhat quickly replaced with its BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwiches. These have a more traditional uniform fast-food chicken patty and come in four varieties, including Classic, Spicy, Bacon & Swiss Cheese, and Southern BBQ.

Wendy's has regularly changed up its chicken offerings, but that's more in line with its seasonal-menu approach than an attempt to truly rival Popeye's. 

Now, McDonald's has been rebranding (not replacing) its Crispy Chicken Sandwich line under a new name.

McDonald's Wants to Make Chicken Work     

While beef prices have fallen, it's still important for McDonald's to have diversify the proteins on its menu. That effort enables the chain to offer deals on burgers when chicken prices are high and vice-versa.

McDonald's has been testing the McCrispy name and concept in Canada since the summer, rolling it out nationwide in August. Now, it's bringing the new (sort of) line to the U.S., Chew Boom reported.

"In addition to the new Bacon Ranch McCrispy Sandwiches, the brand’s existing line of Crispy Chicken Sandwiches will be renamed 'McCrispy.' The sandwiches themselves will remain the same; only the name is changing," the website reported.

There will, however, be some new entries into the product offering as the new name gets rolled out.

"McDonald’s will kick off the rebranding exercise later this month with the release of two new limited-time McCrispy Sandwiches, the Bacon Ranch McCrispy, and Bacon Ranch Deluxe McCrispy," Chew Boom added.

Take a Look at the New McCrispy Choices

Since nothing about the existing chicken sandwiches will change except their name, McDonald's is launching the new branding by adding two limited-time-offer McCrispy sandwiches.

• The Bacon Ranch McCrispy features a crispy, all-white meat chicken fillet topped with applewood-smoked bacon, crinkle-cut pickles, and ranch sauce on a toasted, buttered potato roll.
• The Bacon Ranch Deluxe McCrispy offers the same crispy, all-white meat chicken fillet, applewood-smoked bacon, shredded lettuce, Roma tomatoes, and ranch sauce on a toasted, buttered potato roll.

McDonald's had success last year by bringing its Chicken Mac, a chicken-based take on its classic Big Mac, to locations worldwide.

Chief Executive Christopher Kempczinski spoke about the company's chicken (and beef) strategy during its fourth-quarter earnings call.

"Throughout the year, we continue to step up our game on the favorites that build our heritage. We're delivering hotter, juicier, more delicious burgers and building on the success of emerging equities like the McCrispy Chicken Sandwich. As a result, we are gaining market share in both chicken and beef," he said.

Those efforts, he added, have been working in the U.S,

"We're also seeing strong growth on our core menu, particularly on chicken, where we've been gaining share quite a bit of share on chicken. We've gained about a point of share on chicken in the last year," the CEO said.