Slideshow: Poultry protein driving foodservice innovation

KANSAS CITY — Foodservice operators are expanding their menus with a variety of poultry-based offerings.

For instance, Yum! Brands subsidiary Taco Bell is continuing to innovate on its chicken nugget format introduced last year with the crispy chicken crunchwrap slider. The limited-time product combines the all-white meat nuggets with a tortilla, a three-cheese blend, pico de gallo and either chipotle or jalapeño honey mustard sauce. Taco Bell also is adding to its cantina chicken menu with a permanent menu item, the cantina chicken rolled quesadilla.

“The response to crispy chicken nuggets and cantina chicken showed us just how ready fans are for us to keep innovating,” said Liz Matthews, global chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell. “So we’re having fun with it, playing with form, flavor and texture to bring new energy into the formats our fans already love.”

Carl’s Jr., a CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. portfolio company, has launched the western bacon chicken sandwich. The menu item features a lightly breaded chicken filet, two strips of bacon, onion strings, American cheese and barbecue sauce. The limited-time offering is available through May 12.

“Everyone is fighting the chicken wars, but they forgot to bring the flavor,” said Paz Romero, vice president of brand marketing at Carl’s Jr. “We’re reminding people that Carl’s Jr. is the only destination for those who are tired of bland sandwiches and crave layers of flavor with our crispy, juicy, hand-breaded chicken.”

Fast-casual chain Sweetgreen has debuted a Korean barbecue chicken menu for a limited time. Items in the globally inspired menu feature chicken with a “savory, umami-forward glaze and balanced heat” alongside cucumber kimchi and apple kimchi sauce. Varieties include the Korean barbecue chicken bowl and the Korean barbecue chicken plate.

“KBBQ chicken taps into bold heat, rich sauce and strong contrast in flavor,” said Zipporah Allen, chief commercial officer at Sweetgreen. “By pairing our antibiotic-free roasted chicken with bright elements and a savory glaze, we’re bringing a globally inspired flavor to the menu in a way that feels fresh and distinctly Sweetgreen.”