Monday Meeting 11/21/11: Chicken Scratchings

[More chicken news: Burger King's holiday menu in the UK includes a Cranberry Chicken Tendercrisp sandwich.]
So much of the burger business is about chicken now that it’s only right that the week start with a couple of chicken items:

● Hardee’s has extended its popular Hand-Breaded Chicken line with Buffalo-flavor tenders (in 3- or 5-piece sizes), sandwich and a Wrapper. You can’t tell me the TV spot for the new product (at left) from agency David & Goliath doesn’t make you chuckle.

● Burger King hasn’t gotten back to me about its new french fries (although I’ve heard from several folks who have tried them), but perhaps it can explain marketing (at right) for the new Spicy Panini Tendergrill and Spicy Panini Tendercrisp chicken sandwiches in Singapore. The sell line is, “Other spice tickles. Real spice tingles, and tingles, and tingles…” Say what? Since this is in quotation marks, I’m curious who’s being quoted here. Just asking. The sandwiches look good, though.

● BurgerBusiness.com last month cited reports that McDonald’s will launch Chicken McBites nationally in January. But the product is starting to appear now in some markets, with blogger GrubGrade reporting a sighting in Fort Worth, Texas, of a Spicy Chicken McBites version already.
McBites also have surfaced at McDonald’s Malaysia along with a huge new sandwich called the Double Classic Chicken McDeluxe (at left). Those two fried-chicken patties look like waffles.

● The boxed-meal idea continues its march around the globe: McDonald’s has launched the Icon Box in Japan. The ¥1,000 A version (about $13) contains three large fries with barbecue seasoning packets and four orders of Chicken McNuggets. The ¥1,200 B version (US $15.63) has two medium fries, one Big Mac, one spicy Fiero Chicken sandwich, two chicken tenders and one Chicken Nuggets.