Americans can’t get enough chicken—brands like Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A have risen as fast-food superstars while others race to consolidate their spot as winners of the chicken sandwich wars. Now, Chili’s is entering the game in a big way.
Value menus, a staple of chain and fast-food restaurants, bundle multiple menu items at a discounted price, giving customers a full meal without the full cost. Now, Chili’s—whose value meal includes an entrée, fries, a soda, and bottomless chips and salsa—is adding chicken sandwiches to the mix.
“We’re setting our sights on fast-food chicken sandwiches, offering our gigantic Big Crispy and Spicy Big Crispy chicken sandwiches in the same 3 For Me value meal,” George Felix, Chili’s chief marketing officer, said in a press statement.
The Big Crispy will be offered in six different variations: Original, Nashville Hot Big Crispy, Spicy Big Crispy, Honey-Chipotle Big Crispy, Buffalo Big Crispy, and Deluxe Big Crispy.
The chicken sandwiches are allegedly larger in size than those of its competitors, with the new value-menu rollout serving as commentary on other fast-food restaurants that are shrinking their menu items.
“Over the past few years, we’ve exposed the fast-food shrinkflation by serving our massive burgers in the industry-leading $10.99 3 For Me meal for a value that can’t be found in the drive-through,” Felix said.
Chili’s claim follows that of many customers who have noticed that, while value menu pricing has remained relatively the same, the menu items have shrunk ahead of inflation—a phenomenon referred to as “shrinkflation.”
In one viral post on Reddit’s r/ChickFilA subreddit, a user shared two images allegedly take five years apart, depicting how a chicken sandwich has decreased in size.
“Shrinkflation happened to every corporate entity in the world,” a user responded.
In fact, Its not just fast-food restaurants who have fallen victim to shrinkflation—reports have found that products like the Chobani yogurt flip cups and Kleenex boxes have started to offer less product than before.
“With inflation as high as it is, and more consumers paying closer attention, attempts by brands to squeeze more profit out of each sale by changing package sizes may not go unnoticed,” Fast Company writer Sam Becker wrote about the trend.
As part of the expanded value-menu launch, Chili’s is hosting a pop-up inspired by shrinkflation—or what the company is calling “value injustice”—inviting visitors to serve as jurors by putting fast-food items on trial.
The Chili’s Big Crispy Food Court will be open on April 16 in downtown Manhattan, with attendees hearing “evidence” comparing fast-food items and the new Big Crispy 3-For-Me meal. Attendees will then be able to share their “verdict” via CourtTV.