BK Chicken Fries

**BK Chicken Fries** are a fried chicken product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. At the time of their introduction in 2005, the company had intended Chicken Fries to be one of their larger, adult oriented products made with higher quality ingredients than their standard menu items. Additionally, the product further targeted the *snacking* and *convenience food* markets with a specific packaging design that was intended to be easier to handle and fit into automotive cup holders. The product was part of a series of product introductions designed to expand Burger King's menu with both more sophisticated fare and present a larger, meatier product that appealed to 24- to 36-year-old males. Along with this series of larger, more complex group of menu products, the company intended to attract a larger, more affluent adult audience who would be willing to spend more on the better quality products. They were discontinued in the United States in 2012, but continued to be sold in some markets, such as Italy. In August 2014, they were reintroduced for a limited time offering (LTO) in North America, leading to their permanent re-addition to the menu in March 2015 in over 30 countries globally.

As one of the company's major offerings, the chicken fries are sometimes the center of product advertising for the company. The original advertisements were created by the firm of Crispin, Porter + Bogusky and were the subject of both criticism and legal action by the nu metal band Slipknot over claims of intellectual property rights, while later advertising programs started the company on a new direction of digital-based, multi-media advertising. With the product's North American reintroduction in 2014 and 2015, Burger King utilized a heavy social media campaign to help entice fans of the product back into restaurants. The company has also relied heavily on product tie-ins with the NFL, NCAA and NASCAR to promote the product across different demographic groups. Even though the product has been a prominent part of the menu for the better part of a decade, Burger King has released very few limited-time (LTO) variants of the product – its first one being released in the summer of 2015. Despite being a major product line in the company's portfolio, Burger King has registered very few, if any, global trademarks to protect its investment in the product.

## History

BK Chicken Fries were introduced in 2005 as part of a menu expansion that was designed to cater to a more adult demographic looking for dishes that went beyond the standard fast food fare. At the time of the introduction, Burger King was targeting a demographic group it identified as the "super fan", a group consisting of males between the ages of 18–34 that ate at fast food restaurants several times a week. Additionally, the chain was also adding other fare such as its TenderGrill, TenderCrisp and Angus sandwiches, that were designed to offer more complex menu items that would raise average check prices and expand the breadth of its offerings in the fast food market place. The product was discontinued in January 2012, replaced with Burger King's version of chicken strips in March of that year.

Following Chicken Fries' discontinuation, there was a call for the product's reinstatement from fans of the product on forums such as Reddit; Business Insider noted that they are one of the 17 most requested fast products that people would like to see returned to menus. Fans of the product also established several social media accounts dedicated to Chicken Fries' return on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Additionally, a Change.org petition was created that called on Burger King to reinstate the product to its menu. Perez Hilton's web site declared that Chicken Fries are one product of many that will never come back, while comedian Daniel Tosh featured a skit during one of the segments of his show, Tosh.0, to the product's return. They were re-released in August 2014 as a limited time offering (LTO). The return of the product met with a favorable reaction from those who were advocating for Chicken Fries to return to the Burger King menu. There was disappointment from these groups as well because of the product's status as a limited time offering. In March 2015, Burger King permanently re-added Chicken Fries to the menu in a large, international menu expansion in thirty countries.

The product garnered large amounts of attention on the internet after its discontinuation – at its peak the product was being mentioned in one form or another on average once every 40 seconds. In its third-quarter 2014 earnings report, Burger King admitted that the massive social media attention was one of the primary reasons it brought the product back. The positive reaction to the reintroduction included over one million mentions on Twitter. This tied into a major push by the company to utilize social media as a free marketing tool to millennials, who overwhelmingly utilize interactive media to communicate and prefer companies that utilize these tools.

Besides customer demand for the product, another major reason for the reintroduction was due to a significant rise in the cost of beef. During the previous few months leading up to the reintroduction of Chicken Fries, the available cattle stocks had declined since the USDA began record keeping in 1973. This shortage of ground beef caused a spike in the price of beef to all-time highs in June 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additionally, increasing competition from McDonald's, Wendy's and other chains in the fast food industry drove Burger King to boost sales by introducing new products along similar lines. Two major competitors had been revamping their menus with products such as variations on the McDouble from McDonald's and sandwiches based on pretzel-style buns from Wendy's.

The third reason the product was brought back was because of a new approach the company was taking regarding LTO products; instead of putting out large numbers of products that may only appeal to a small audience, it instead would only add a smaller number of products that have broader market appeal. Chicken Fries were part of that goal, with the re-introduction utilizing a three prong approach: its stated intention to introduce products to those that will have most impact, a bid to appeal to Millennials utilizing social media focused campaigns, and to utilize a former product from its portfolio that the company probably should have thought about before discontinuing. The idea of reintroducing older products is appealing to companies such as Burger King and McDonald's because it is operationally easier than launching a completely new product by allowing a company to utilize older advertising along with its existing supply chain already which is already established to deliver the product ingredients. The limited-time offers allow chains to bring "new" product the menu without adding permanent complexity to their kitchen operations.

The reintroduction of Chicken Fries proved to be a fortuitous decision for Burger King, the resulting sales bump provided an increase in profits each time they were added to the menu. The 2014 reintroduction was a resounding success for the company, helping Burger King achieve domestic same-store comparable sales rise of 3.1% in 2014. On the opposite side, McDonald's reported a 4% decrease for the same period in its domestic same-store sales, which the competitor attributed to "ongoing aggressive competitive activity." The success of the 2015 reintroduction again helped the chain post positive financial numbers, with the company reporting that the Chicken Fries reintroduction was one of a trio of factors that helped drive second quarter 2015 same-store comparable sales growth up by 7.9%. Again, arch rival McDonald's reported that its same-store comparable sales fell 2% for the same time period in the US as its promotions failed to meet financial analysts' predictions.

## Product description

BK Chicken Fries are breaded and fried chicken strips, and were available in three sizes during their initial availability period: six-, nine-, and twelve-piece servings. Three and thirty-six-piece sizes were available as limited time offers (LTO). The smaller size was sold à la carte, while larger portion could be purchased as a meal option. While its core audience was adults such as soccer moms or commuters, a children's meal option was at one time available U.S. that included a six-piece order of the product. The 2014 reissued product was only available in a nine-piece serving, at a recommended price point of USD $2.89.

A summer 2015 LTO introduced a spicy variant, called Fiery Chicken Fries, in addition to the standard offering; the product featured a spicy breading featuring a mix of cayenne pepper, black pepper and other spices that replaced the normal coating. The product was the first variant of BK Chicken Fries added to the company's menu. In developing the product, Burger King's chief marketing officer stated that once taste testers described the product as "spicy as shit", the company realized it had the correct spice mix. Sale of the product would be limited to a one-month period, but the company stated if sales were successful enough it would consider extending the availability beyond the initial time frame.

To accompany the 2015 re-introduction of the product, the chain released a new sauce simply called Chicken Fry Sauce. The new condiment was not widely advertised, with almost all promotion being done through the company's social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook. The sauce is described as a combination of BBQ sauce and honey mustard, and described by Burger King as "the sauce of all sauces." The company's posts were accompanied by the hashtag #AskForTheSauce.