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The
company, a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc, is
competing against rival hamburger brands, including McDonald's
Corp for consumers' increasing cravings for chicken.
Burger King will also be competing against Popeyes, another
Restaurant Brands International unit that helped launch the
popularity of chicken sandwiches when it rolled out its first
sandwich in 2019.
Burger King started test-runs at a few locations in September.
The sandwich will come in original or spicy and will be served
on a potato bun with deli pickles and a savory sauce.
The company would not confirm exactly when the sandwich will
launch. The item will be rolled out to 1,000 Burger King
locations at a time, according to Ellie Doty, chief marketing
officer, Burger King North America.
Comparable sandwiches to be sold by McDonald's and some other
chains are usually pre-breaded and frozen before arriving at
restaurants.
Burger King's approach, however, will be similar to Popeyes and
other chicken specialists.
It could be a big challenge for operations. Burger King must add
new breading stations inside of stores, with about 6 different
bins for dredging and battering the white-meat fillets.
The sandwiches will take about five minutes to prepare versus
two to three minutes to grill a Whopper, for example, Doty said.
The sandwich is currently being tested in six areas and selling
for different prices. In Huntsville, Alabama, it is $3.89, and
in Providence, Rhode Island, it costs $3.99 - about the same
price as sandwiches from competing chicken chains, including
Chick-fil-A.
Burger King has not determined a final price yet, Doty said.
(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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