USA TODAY International Edition
Will McDonald’s wings fly?
Chain plans limited Mighty Wings roll- out
McDonald’s is set to hatch a fastfood menu item in a fast- growing category it wants to own: chicken wings.
The world’s biggest fast- food chain plans a limited- time roll- out of its “Mighty Wings” starting Sept. 9 — with a nationwide roll- out to be complete by Sept. 24, says Leslie Truelove, director of marketing at McDonald’s USA.
The bone- in wings, breaded and seasoned with cayenne and chili pepper, will be sold through November.
The wings will be sold in packs of three, five and 10, starting at $ 2.99. And customers can choose from nine sauces, ranging from creamy ranch to chipotle barbecue.
Ronald McDonald doesn’t want to stay grounded as the snack takes flight in the fast- food industry.
By some estimates, wings rank among the fastest- growing category for food- on- the- run restaurants — with sales topping $ 8 billion in 2012, reports GuestMetrics. That’s up 11% over a year earlier.
“Wings is a major move,” says Scott Hume, editor of the BurgerBus
iness blog, which broke the news Monday. “It’s like the Colonel adding a cheeseburger.”
Mighty Wings will make McDonald’s a “serious competitor” to KFC, Popeyes, Church’s and other chicken chains, Hume adds.
Industry analysts are already impressed. “We view the introduction of Mighty Wings as a meaningful catalyst” for improved sales, says Lynne Collier, a restaurant analyst at the firm Sterne Agee.
The chicken segment seems to be on fire. The move by McDonald’s comes less than a year after fast- food rival KFC upended its menu and began selling boneless chicken.
Then, in April, competitor Chickfil- A upgraded its salad offerings in a bid to appeal to a wider consumer segment, especially Millennials.
Monday’s announcement by McDonald’s “continues the blurring of the lines between burger, chicken, sandwich and pizza chains,” says Hume.
And it’s a bid by McDonald’s to juice sluggish sales that have plagued most fast- food companies in recent months. “The market is such that chains need menu news continuously, not occasionally,” says Hume.
McDonald’s executives believe Mighty Wings will be a hit. The wings were tested in Atlanta, in the fall of 2012, and have since returned.