KFC and “the colonel” are everywhere.
Sometimes it feels like they’re on every street corner!
And given how ubiquitous they are, I certainly expected KFC to be America’s best-selling fried chicken.
But in fact…
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KFC isn’t anywhere particularly close to the “most popular” fried chicken spot by sales in the United States.
Now, it DOES have the most restaurants – again, no surprise – at 3,791 locations.
But for sales it’s a distant third, at $5.2 billion in domestic sales.
That works out to about $1.4 million in sales per restaurant, on average.
And here’s the thing:
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The #2 spot goes to Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, which did $5.5 billion in total US sales in 2023 and had 3,076 stores.
So – Popeyes had about ~725 fewer restaurants, but still managed to outsell KFC by $311 million, because it did a whopping $1.8 million in sales per store.
Impressive, for sure, but it probably won’t surprise you to learn that America’s favorite fried chicken did even better.
What may surprise you, however, is just how MUCH better…
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The #1 fried chicken chain in the US – which is Chick-fil-A, by the way – has 2,552 restaurants and did $21.6 billion in sales, according to data from QSR Magazine.
That works out to $8.5 million in sales per store.
Which is…crazy.
I mean, again, KFC did $1.4 million.
Popeyes did $1.8 million! That’s super impressive!
But Chick-fil-A’s $8.5 million blows it out of the water.
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Now, that Chick-fil-A beat KFC isn’t probably all that shocking.
But that it did more in sales than the next five fried-chicken chains put together…well, THAT says something!
That’s right – Chick-fil-A sold more than Popeyes, plus KFC, plus Raising Cane’s, plus Wingstop, plus Zaxby’s, all combined!
And here’s how:
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Chick-fil-A’s dominance comes down to a number of factors. The first, and most obvious one is – great food.
No one goes to a restaurant unless the food is good!
And Chick-fil-A has always kept a very intentionally minimal menu, with just a handful of items, all executed fantastically.
From their traditional fried chicken sandwich (the “Chick-fil-A sandwich”), to the breaded nuggets, to the waffle fries – you can always get the favorites, and you know they’re always going to be good.
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Chick-fil-A also does a great job of supporting its seasonal menu (peppermint shake, anyone?) and thoughtfully adding new menu items over time.
(Including sometimes bringing back a few older items.)
Consider the spicy chicken sandwich, which debuted in 2010 to much fanfare and has become a menu staple ever since.
That kind of thoughtful, careful rollout (with an eye toward quality) just helps distinguish the Chick-fil-A experience.
Which brings me to another big differentiator:
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Has anyone ever had a bad experience with a Chick-fil-A employee?
(Not a rhetorical question – if you have had a bunch of bad experiences and I’m just missing a corner of the universe where Chick-fil-As are terrible, let me know in the comments.)
Genuinely they’re the nicest people – it feels a little bit like visiting a Buc-ee’s or a Disney.
Which is extra impressive because Chick-fil-As are almost all franchised!
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My sense of things is that Chick-fil-A is VERY intentional about which franchisees they partner with.
They insist on a quality of character and really push their operators to treat team members well.
Plus – and this is a genius move – there’s Chick-fil-A’s Remarkable Futures Scholarship program…
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Eligible team members can apply for college scholarships as part of the Remarkable Futures program – which helps push college-bound students toward Chick-fil-A.
Because, all else equal, why would you pick Chick-fil-A over another place? Well, the option of a potential scholarship could be a big differentiator!
I’ve observed that Chick-fil-As seem to have their pick of high schoolers. Obviously it’s still an entry-level job and the very beginning of someone’s career, but you can start seeing differences in kids’ motivation for sure by high school.
So Chick-fil-A is able to pull in great workers and support them in their educational growth. It’s a win-win, and very reminiscent of some of the smart stuff Starbucks does to attract and retain great talent.
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So you’ve got:
– Great food
– Great operators
– Great employees
…which means a restaurant experience that’s not just consistent, but consistently awesome.
Hard to argue with that!
But speaking of which, that brings me to a final question:
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You see, Chick-fil-A is dominant – for now – but there are a ton of impressive competitors coming after it.
So – what do YOU think Chick-fil-A needs to do to stay on top?
Let us know in the comments!
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