Is Costco Entering Chicken Sandwich Wars? This Food Court Creation Joins The Fray

As the chicken sandwich wars of 2021 continue to rage on, Costco (COST) seems to have made its foray into the battle zone with a creation that is now on its food court menu.

According to a social media post from costcodeals, the wholesale retailer has added a crispy chicken sandwich option that has spicy mayo on a soft cheese bun with no pickles. The sandwich costs $4.89.

However, the chicken sandwich is not available everywhere yet, and especially not in the U.S. So far it has only been spotted at Costco stores in Canada as shoppers in Vancouver posted the new food court menu find to Instagram.

While Costco may not be making a real play at getting into the chicken sandwich game, in which there are plenty of players, it is certainly answering customers’ requests for the menu item.

Chains such as KFC and McDonald’s have said the demand is so strong for their chicken sandwiches that they are having trouble keeping them in stock.

KFC parent company, Yum! Brands CEO David Gibbs told CNBC, “In fact, as we’ve entered [the second quarter], demand for the new sandwich has been so strong that, coupled with general tightening of domestic chicken supply, our main challenge has been keeping up with that demand.”

KFC introduced in January what it called its “best” chicken sandwich ever. The sandwich features a quarter-pound of all-white meat chicken breasted that is double-breaded extra crispy, mayo or the Colonel's spicy sauce, and pickles on a toasted and buttered brioche bun.

The launch of KFC’s chicken sandwich came just days after McDonald’s announced three new chicken sandwiches – a classic, deluxe, and spicy.

The McDonald’s crispy chicken sandwiches debuted on Feb. 24, featuring crispy white meat chicken fillet served with crinkle-cut pickles on a toasted, buttered potato roll. The deluxe sandwich adds shredded lettuce, Roma tomatoes, and mayonnaise, while the spicy version has spicy pepper sauce on it.

Burger King also launched a chicken sandwich in 2021 with a hand-breaded option that it has been testing since September. The sandwich is offered as in an original or spicy version with a thick-cut white meat chicken on a toasted potato bun with pickles and signature sauces.

Chick-fil-A and Popeyes started the chicken wars back in 2019 when they went head-to-head over their own sandwich creations, causing massive lines of customers at their restaurants clamoring to get their hands on the new menu item.

Shares of Costco were trading at $378.51 as of premarket hours on Monday, down 82 cents, or 0.21%.