Wingstop Has Good News For Chicken Lovers
If you're craving chicken, you've got plenty of fast food options. You can grab some nuggets at McDonald's, a chicken sandwich at Chik-fil-A, or a number of fried chicken menu items to choose from at Popeyes. Plus, the popular Filipino fried chicken chain, Jollibee, is expanding in the United States, adding yet another choice for chicken lovers. But if it's chicken wings you're looking for, you might want to head over to the nearest Wingstop.
According to Restaurant Business Online, in 2021 the price of chicken wings went up to $3.22 per pound. And while the prices are now hovering at $2.60 per pound, restaurant prices have still seen a significant price jump. Frequent Wingstop customers might have noticed a slight change in the menu in the past months, as the prices for Wingstop's jumbo wings have increased. Wingstop CEO Charlie Morrison states that the company is pulling all the stops to keep prices as low as possible, giving the fast food chain an edge against competitors (per Restaurant Business).
Wingstop keeps its prices on the lower end
Even though the price of large wings was up 41% last year, Wingstop capped its price increase at 27.5% (via Restaurant Business). The price of the popular party food is dropping, seeing a decrease last week of $0.04 per pound, and Wingstop's CFO, Alex Kaleida, does have some hopeful news for patrons of the fast casual restaurant. Kaleida told investors that "With regards to wing inflation, we believe the worst is behind us." He went on to note, "As these positive trends continue, we anticipate year-over-year deflation in wing prices in the second half of the year."
Supply chain issues, a phrase we've been hearing all too often, is part of the cause for the hike in chicken wing prices (per Insider). There are labor shortages on farms, an increase in demand, and treacherous winter storms in Texas and across the Northeast. Frying oil is also up 120%, which attributes to the rising price of the saucy appetizer. Newsweek explains that some restaurants have taken to pricing wings at market price, similar to how fish can be priced.
While waiting for the price of chicken wings to come down at restaurants, you can still satisfy your craving for wings at home. Try this copycat recipe for Wingstop's lemon pepper wings or this simple Buffalo wing recipe.