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If there’s one thing the UK isn’t short of, it’s chicken chains.
In the last few weeks alone, Raising Cane’s revealed it’s going to be opening a flagship restaurant in the capital in late 2026 and Chick-fil-A shared plans for sites in Leeds and London.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is also looking to expand, as well as the likes of KFC and Slim Chickens.
And it’s not just American chicken brands that want to set up shop here – Dubai-based BonBird and Canada’s MB Chicken are also getting in on the action.
Other established fast food chains are jumping on the bandwagon too, with Domino’s recently unveiling a new chicken spin-off brand called Chick ‘N’ Dip and McDonald’s revealing its looking to add more chicken items to its UK menu.
Thomas O’Neill, the head of menu at McDonald’s, told Metro: ‘Chicken is a huge area of focus for us. A lot of our customers are looking for more options, more things to excite them, so we’ll be doing a lot more with chicken.
‘We’ve done a few different versions of the McCrispy and we’re also looking at sauce, because when it comes to chicken, sauce is critical.’
But why exactly is chicken having such a moment right now?
Research commissioned by Middleton Foods using PureSpectrum earlier this year found that 87% of people in the UK now eat fried chicken at least once a month.
To find out why it’s proving so popular, Metro spoke to Vhari Russell, a food industry specialist and founder of The Food Marketing Experts.
She explained that during turbulent times, such as a cost of living crisis, chicken is seen as an ‘affordable, familiar and versatile’ product.
‘It’s a lower-risk source of protein when costs are high and customers are cautious,’ she says. ‘It’s also perceived as being slightly “healthier” than beef or pork, so it appeals across demographics.’
As such, chicken chains in the UK have been thriving and the market has become crowded as more and more try to cash in on the demand.
This success is capturing the attention of chains from around the world, as it signals the UK as an ‘attractive’ prospect for international expansion and growth.
‘From KFC to independent chicken shops, the UK is already obsessed with fried chicken. Local chicken shops are seen as iconic, especially with the younger generations, so global chains see fertile ground, and we’re very trend-driven here,’ Vhari claims.
‘Right now [the big trend] is spicy chicken, like Nashville hot, Korean fried and peri-peri, which has gone mainstream after years of building momentum.
‘It’s proving popular because it offers consumers comfort with a kick and is fun, shareable, Instagrammable and a little adventurous.’
Social media is also partly to blame for the chicken craze as it’s given fried chicken ‘status’, so it’s now seen as somehting hype-worthy, meme-friendly and craveable.
Celebrities are helping to fuel this by posting about the chains or being papped eating at them – it’s no secret that Drake, Usher and Samuel L. Jackson are all Dave’s Hot Chicken fans, Travis Kelce, Cynthia Erivo, Post Malone and Snoop Dogg have also all been seen eating at Raising Cane’s, while Beyoncé and Jay-Z are thought to have served Popeyes at their wedding.
Vhari adds: ‘In short, fried chicken is hitting the sweet spot of affordability, familiarity, indulgence, and hype, and US brands want to ride that wave in a market where the appetite already exists, with UK consumers fueling the demand.’
One chain that’s been going from strength to strength in the UK of late is Popeyes, which originally hails from Louisiana and specialises in fried chicken sandwiches.
Peopeyes launched its first UK restaurant in Westfield Stratford in November 2021 and will have more than 100 sites nationwide by the end of 2025.
In 2024, it sold the equivalent of one chicken sandwich every three seconds in the UK, with total sales bringing in more than £118m.
Tom Crowley, CEO of Popeyes UK, shared what he thinks has been the chain’s secret to success here, saying: ‘If you go back a few years, overall, the market didn’t have the innovation or focus which it deserved.
‘The quality of food was variable and so was the customer experience.’
He continues: ‘The customer deserved better and that’s why brands like Popeyes have been so successful; we’ve focused on great quality food, and a consistently great experience, whether that’s dining in, taking out, on delivery or at a drive thru.’
As for all the competition his business is currently facing, Tom’s not sweating it, as he doesn’t think all of the other chicken chains have got what it takes to survive in the UK.
‘Some will do well, and others will struggle if they don’t have a great quality product at great value.
‘Overall, we think new competition is a positive for innovation and consumer choice, and we welcome it.’
He adds: ‘We have exciting plans to further grow our footprint in the UK and whilst we’ll continue to innovate our menu along the way, our core proposition will be at the centre of everything we do. It’s what we’re known for, and our customers know we consistently deliver on this.’
What does a food futurologist think?
Food futurologist, Dr. Morgaine Gaye claims the rise in chicken boils down to two things – how cheap it is to produce and the increase in our consumption of fast food.
She explains: ‘Chicken is cheap to produce in cramped conditions, you can use antibiotics to manage disease and there’s no need for pasture, therefore chickens can be mass farmed in most regions.
‘The meat can be flavoured with many sauces, battered, fried, crumbed and crumbled. It’s versatile and not fatty, so it ticks a lot of boxes.’
For Dr. Gaye, the hot topic shouldn’t be the fried chicken itself, but instead why we all want to eat so much of it these days.
She believes many of us have become disconnected from the food we eat, which is why we are opting for fast food.
‘There’s a generation or two who have lost a connection to the food they eat,’ she tells Metro.
‘Schools are not educating about food and our focus is often on the way we use our time – which means cooking is something we want to outsource and home delivery is so easily available.’
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