Smashburger enters Chicken Sandwich Wars with Scorchin’ new entrant

Smashburger is jumping into the white hot chicken sandwich craze. The national burger chain on Monday announced its newest menu creation: the Scorchin’ Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich.  The spicy sandwich is made with Nashville hot crispy chicken, spicy red pepper mayo, pickles, and served on a classic toasted bun. The new addition will be available for a limited time beginning April 19 through June 13 at locations nationwide.

Ever since Popeyes emerged in 2019 to challenge Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwich crown — to smashing success — a growing contingent of fast food giants have jumped in with menu items of their own. The ever lengthening list includes Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Arby’s, Jimmy John’s, and Shake Shack. In February, McDonald’s entered the race by introducing three different versions of its long-awaited chicken sandwich: Crispy, Spicy and Crispy Deluxe (which includes extra toppings like lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise).

Just last week, Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor explained why the fast-food industry is in love with selling new chicken sandwiches.  “It’s easy, quick to make. You can serve it fresh and hot and you can do some unique builds along the way,” Penegor told Yahoo Finance.

Wendy’s fried chicken sandwich, which also debuted in February, features jalapeño cream cheese, shredded pepper jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese sauce, and jalapeños. “It’s got a healthier perception to it from a consumer perspective, so I do think that there are a lot of folks gravitating to it,” Penegor continued.  “And with all the news that’s been created, it does drive a lot of trial. And it gets folks to really think about, maybe I need to have a few more chicken sandwiches in my routine. So it’s been good for the industry,” he added.

Smashburger is well aware of the chicken sandwich battle in the fast food space. Because of the fierce competition, the brand will be offering a single day promotion on April 20 (a rather auspicious date on the calendar for a certain demographic of people who get the munchies) to give customers who purchase a Scorchin’ Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich a second one for free.

—
Photo Credit: Paul McKinnon / Shutterstock.com