In this article, we’ll analyze Chick-fil-A’s market growth to see where it stands in terms of the fastest-growing fast-food chains across America based on number of new units opened in 2022 relative to 2021. We’ve compiled a list of 15 Fastest-Growing Fast-Food Chains in the US where you can check this out.
Chick-Fil-A
Units opened in 2022: 153
Chick-fil-A, Inc. stands as a prominent American fast-food chain renowned for its specialization in chicken sandwiches, and has, in recent times, given great competition to Yum! Brands, Inc.’s (NYSE:YUM) KFC. Situated in College Park, Georgia, the company oversees operations spanning 3,059 restaurants across 48 states.
In a recent development, Chick-fil-A disclosed its plans of change regarding the chicken it uses. In March 2024, Chick-fil-A took a transition whereby it stopped using chickens raised with no antibiotics ever (NAE), and instead, will now use chicken with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM), due to its ability to get NAIHM more seamlessly.
Having generated a U.S. systemwide sales figure of a whopping $18.8 billion in 2022, Chick-fil-A has seen impressive growth, given that the sales figure was $12.2 billion in 2019 – an incredible 54.1% growth in the span of 3 years! Furthermore, its sales revenue was recorded at $21.6 billion in 2023, which was up 14.7% as compared to the previous year.
The impressive growth over the years in the business, and that too, in such a short period, has helped Chick-fil-A get regarded as the 3rd largest fast-food chain in America. And yes, this means that while Yum! Brands, Inc.’s (NYSE:YUM) KFC, Chick-fil-A’s biggest competitor, might be ahead in terms of scale and reach, it’s not so, in terms of sales. Some other big names that it has left behind in the sales game are Taco Bell, Burger King, and Wendy’s, each recording sales figures of $13.9 billion, $10.3 billion, and $11.7 billion, respectively (U.S. 2022 Sales) – and that’s the kind of leap Chick-Fil-A has taken in the recent times! With systemwide sales of $18.8 billion in 2022, Chick-Fil-A was only behind McDonald’s and Starbucks, both of which were the biggest revenue-generating fast-food giants in that year; and an interesting thing to note is that both these other fast-food giants have at least 10,000 more stores than Chick-fil-A’s. Isn’t that impressive?
Furthermore, Chick-fil-A also has establishments in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, demonstrating its widespread success. In U.S., Texas boasts the highest count of its outlets, with 495 locations. Following closely behind are Georgia and Florida, with 259 and 246 establishments, respectively. These three states, namely, Texas, Florida, and Georgia, boast population figures of 30.5 million, 22.6 million, and 11 million, respectively, according to United States Consensus Bureau; these three of the most populous states of America having most of the Chick-Fil-A outlets also explains the success that it has achieved so far. Presently, Chick-fil-A restaurants can be found in nearly 40 states, as per information from the official Chick-fil-A corporate website.
So based on our methodology of the number of units opened in 2022, Chick-fil-A is NOT the fastest-growing fast-food chain in the US. However, it’s one of the fastest, specifically, it ranks 10th among the fastest-growing chains.
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