The news of McDonald's plans to launch a new chicken menu item, Mighty Wings, has triggered a fast food frenzy smack down.
According to NBC News, a day after the Chicago Tribune reported McDonald's addition of Chicken Wings to their menu, Burger King fired back Tuesday with a French Fry Burger for a buck.
McDonald's announced it will introduce Mighty Wings to their menu for a limited-time offer through November. The new addition will be sold in orders of three, five and 10-pieces starting at $2.99, with nine different sauces including Chipotle Barbeque, Spicy Buffalo and Tangy Barbeque, according to the website BurgerBusiness.com.
In retaliation, Burger King announced the French Fry Burger, a standard beef patty topped with four of the chain's french fries. The new menu item will be available beginning Sept. 1 and through the fall season.
According to NBC News, the burger is 360 calories and 19 grams of fat doesn't require any extra investment from Burger King. Fast food franchises are promoting new, but simple additions to their menus in hopes of drawing customers.
McDonald's in particular has stepped up advertising for its Dollar Menu, which now features its Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger and a more substantial McDouble, a burger with two patties and a slice of cheese.
Earlier this year, Burger King began offering any two sandwiches for $5 and a Junior Whopper for $1.29. Burger King sales at North American restaurants opened at least a year slipped 0.5 percent.
According to NBC News, Wendy's reported a 0.4 percent rise. McDonald's reported a 1 percent increase for U.S. restaurants. Other chains, by contrast, are faring better. Chipotle reported a 3.4 percent increase and Starbucks said the figure rose 9 percent.
This past spring, Burger King launched its biggest ever menu expansion to include its own snack wraps, fruit smoothies and specialty coffee drinks. And last week, the Miami-based chain even introduced chicken nuggets, replacing the chicken tenders it previously sold.
McDonald's is facing competition from newer chains such as Chipotle and Panera Bread Co., which serve higher-quality food for slightly higher prices. According to NBC News, it's not clear whether the strategy will pay off for the chains, or what impact it could have on wearing away at profit margins over the long term.
