The Chicken Parmesan Sandwich has been rolled out by Burger King in the United States. Priced at $4.99 and featuring 100% seasoned and breaded white meat, it will be available for a limited time at participating restaurants.
This debut follows the introduction earlier this year of Burger King’s Crispy Chicken sandwich, which boasts a white meat chicken filet topped with lettuce, sliced tomato and mayonnaise served on a toasted potato bun. Building off that success, the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich is intended to further elevate the chicken sandwich category.
“We know our guests love bold Italian flavors,” said Alex Macedo, president of Burger King operations in North America. “Now they can enjoy a tasty chicken sandwich with the great flavor and juiciness of our Crispy Chicken Sandwich paired with classic ingredients including shaved parmesan, melted mozzarella and rich, Italian-style marinara sauce.”
Not at all “chicken” about beefing up chicken menu options, the world’s second largest fast food hamburger chain, as is also the case with No. 1 McDonald’s, seems in part responding to be responding what some restaurant industry watchers have labeled “burger fatigue” by further diversifying menus.
McDonald’s expanding Signature Crafted offerings include Pico Guacamole with Artisan Grilled Chicken and Maple Bacon Dijon with Artisan Grilled Chicken.
Foodservice market distributor US Foods, in recent online commentary about sandwich trends, observed: “Hearty, complex, flavorful chicken sandwiches are popping up everywhere. Fuddruckers, the fast casual burger chain, branched out with new chicken sandwiches served with balsamic greens on Italian hoagie buns: the Chicken Cordon Bleu, crispy chicken topped with sliced ham and Swiss cheese, and the Caprese, combining grilled ranch-seasoned chicken breast, basil pesto mayonnaise, mozzarella and roasted tomato slices. In a similar vein, Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen rolled out a new line of customizable chicken sandwiches: the Spicy Bayou with rèmoulade and crispy onion straws, the Bacon Ranch with ranch sauce and bacon, and the Southwestern with zesty Baja sauce and pico de gallo.
Americans eat an estimated 300 million sandwiches every day, or about one a day per capita, according to Rosemont, Illinois-headquartered US Foods. In restaurants, sandwiches are menued more frequently than any other type of entrée. In fact, if hamburgers are included, sandwiches account for nearly half of all limited-service restaurant sales.
