• Popeyes' chicken sandwich recently took over America, sparking endless fast-food-centric debate and sending thousands of people to stores to try the new menu item. 
• The chicken sandwich joins just a handful of launches that shook the country, with menu items going from a cheap lunch to cultural icons. 
• From McDonald's Teenie Beanies to KFC's Double Down, here are the six biggest launches in fast-food history. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fast-food chains add new items to the menu all the time.

Executives spend months developing a new dessert or sandwich, testing the menu item, and then finally letting the general public try the fruits of their labor. Ideally, this will bring more customers to the chain and boost sales for a few months. 

Then there are the new menu items that shake the country to its core. 

Suddenly, this new menu item is all anyone wants to talk about. Social media devolves into a spiderweb of debates about chain restaurants. The New Yorker and The New York Times start publishing think pieces about fast food. Workers' lives are in shambles, as customers begin rioting amidst menu item shortages. 

Read more:Popeyes is sold out of chicken sandwiches nationwide after selling through a batch in 2 weeks that was supposed to last until October

The most recent juggernaut was Popeyes' chicken sandwich. But, there have been a handful of other menu items that have similarly possessed the American imagination. 

Here are six menu launches in American history that were bigger than anyone could have anticipated. 

SEE ALSO: 'I was working like a slave': Exhausted Popeyes employees describe a harrowing situation amid chicken-sandwich chaos, including working 60-hour weeks and shifts with no breaks

McDonald's Teenie Beanie Baby Happy Meals

Year: 1997

Chaos: Significant, with collectors showing up and demanding Beanie Babies as soon as a new Happy Meal launched

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: None, but we have Wall Street Journal with "Teenie Beanie Babies Generate Big Buzz, Thrilling McDonald's."

Someone who worked at McDonald's during the Beanie Baby boom reminded me of the frenzy that accompanied Teenie Beanie Baby drops when I was sought suggestions for out-of-control menu item launches on Twitter.

Happy Meals, accompanied by limited-time Teenie Beanie Babies, would swiftly sell out as Beanie Baby fanatics rushed to the chain at 10:30 am, when McDonald's began selling lunch. The partnership between McDonald's and Beanie Babies continued until the Beanie bubble burst around the turn of the millennium. 

KFC's Double Down

Year: 2010

Chaos: Significant, though the buzz surpassed sales

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: The Times' food critic Sam Sifton reviewed the menu item, stalked by the "geek paparazzi" at Eater. His verdict: "a slimy and unnaturally moist thing, with flavor ginned up in a lab."

America lost its mind when KFC rolled out a menu item that sandwiches cheese and bacon between two pieces of fried chicken. 

"This is deep-fried madness," Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert said of the sandwich when it launched. "This is breaded insanity. It is a sandwich that lacks all sandwich-ness. It's like an edible Hieronymus Bosch painting wrapped in a paper straitjacket. If a sandwich has no buns, can it truly be called a sandwich?"

Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco

Year: 2012

Chaos: Mitigated by the 15,000 extra workers 

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: The Times is on it: Looks Like a Taco, Tastes Like a Chip

The Doritos Locos Taco was so successful it essentially fueled Taco Bell's turnaround when it launched in 2012. 

The chain sold more than a billion Doritos Locos Tacos in the first year, hiring an estimated 15,000 workers to keep up with demand.

"The idea sounds really simple, but it has to deliver on two fronts: the classic Taco Bell taste and the distinctive Doritos experience," Taco Bell product developer Steven Gomez told Business Insider."Unlike a tortilla chip, taco shells can't break, and have to properly hold the taco ingredients."

Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino

Year: 2017

Chaos: A few days of horror

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: 'Unicorn Food' Is Colorful, Sparkly and Everywhere" at The Times

The Unicorn Frappuccino was one of the first major made-for-Instagram menu items to break into the mainstream. To this day, Starbucks executives say it was the "most viral" drink launch of all time. 

The color-changing Frappuccino, which was only supposed to be available for four days, was also a nightmare for workers to make. Fortunately, most stores sold out in just a day or two. 

"We ran out of unicorn frappuccino ingredients after the first day....we sold 508 unicorn f----- frappuccinos in ONE F------ DAY!" one barista wrote.

McDonald's Szechuan Sauce

Year: 2017

Chaos: People were rioting in parking lots

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: Things got so bad, The Times had to write up the outrage.

Fans of the cartoon "Rick and Morty" spent most of 2017 trying to force McDonald's to bring back Szechuan McNugget sauce. When McDonald's obliged, with a "really, really limited" rollout of the sauce at a handful of locations, customers were furious at the limited supply.

In Wellington, Florida, police were called to one location. In New York City, crowds of angry customers formed. 

McDonald's eventually brought the sauce back to all locations. But, when customers finally had a chance to try the sauce, many were disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype. 

Read more:People are furious at McDonald's after it brought back Szechuan McNugget sauce — but not enough for 'Rick and Morty' fans

Popeyes' Chicken Sandwich

Year: 2019

Chaos: Workers were being threatened by hungry customers as chicken sandwiches sold out

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: The New Yorker's Helen Rosner proclaimed: "Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Here to Save America."

By far the biggest menu item launch of 2019, Popeyes chicken sandwich exploded on the scene thanks to a Twitter battle with Chick-fil-A. The chain's social media war for the title of best chicken sandwich kicked off endless debate — and sent thousands of people to Popeyes. 

Workers were exhausted and ready to quit, as restaurants quickly ran out of sandwiches. Supply which was supposed to last two months sold out in just two weeks. 

Did we forget a menu item? Email ktaylor@businessinsider.com to let me know. 

• KFC on July 1 is releasing a limited-edition fried-chicken sandwich topped with Cheetos.
• We tried the Cheetos Sandwich, and it's a cheesy, crunchy childhood dream come true.
• Although the Cheetos Sandwich will only be available for a month, KFC executives say there will be more similar mash-up menu items in the future.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Star-crossed lovers Cheetos and fried chicken will finally unite in holy-moly matrimony this summer.

In its first-ever collaboration with Frito-Lay, KFC on July 1 is releasing a Cheetos sandwich that will fulfill all your childhood dreams of cheese, crunch, and crispy fried chicken. The Cheetos sandwich will be only be available through the end of July, though KFC's executive chef, Bob Das, told Business Insider that the chain is looking to continue to offer limited-edition mash-up menu items like this one.

We, your ever-faithful fast-food taste-testers at Business Insider, tried this love child of junk food and fast-food, and it was every bit as weirdly delicious as it was in our prepubescent dreams.

We didn't know what to expect, but what we got was this: a soft potato bun stuffed with jagged crispy chicken, intensely orange artificial Cheetos sauce, and a fistful of Cheetos.

It was orange. Oh, so orange.

We were not prepared for the lactic magic that was about to happen.

The sharp, pungent, Cheetos cheese tang was the perfect match for KFC's crispy-as-funk fried chicken. The Cheetos glued to the bottom with a swab of mayo added even more crunch to the bunch.

Business Insider's senior retail correspondent, Kate Taylor, described the sandwich as "better than a salad" in every way besides nutritional value. 

Cheetos and KFC's fried chicken were a match made in heaven, and we're so relieved that they were finally able to consummate their longtime, long-distance flirtation. Congratulations to the happy couple and props to KFC for making our childhood dreams come true.

KFC's president, Kevin Hochman, told Business Insider that KFC is looking to do more collaborations with other major brands, such as the Cinnabon dessert biscuit that launched earlier this year.

We can't wait.

SEE ALSO: We tried Hard Rock Cafe's new 24-karat gold leaf burger, and we're not convinced it's better than a normal burger

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Subway's 42,000 locations are the most of any fast-food chain on the planet, but franchise owners are taking a hit

• Popeyes' chicken sandwich recently took over America, sparking endless fast-food-centric debate and sending thousands of people to stores to try the new menu item. 
• The chicken sandwich joins just a handful of launches that shook the country, with menu items going from a cheap lunch to cultural icons. 
• From McDonald's Teenie Beanies to KFC's Double Down, here are the six biggest launches in fast-food history. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fast-food chains add new items to the menu all the time.

Executives spend months developing a new dessert or sandwich, testing the menu item, and then finally letting the general public try the fruits of their labor. Ideally, this will bring more customers to the chain and boost sales for a few months. 

Then there are the new menu items that shake the country to its core. 

Suddenly, this new menu item is all anyone wants to talk about. Social media devolves into a spiderweb of debates about chain restaurants. The New Yorker and The New York Times start publishing think pieces about fast food. Workers' lives are in shambles, as customers begin rioting amidst menu item shortages. 

Read more:Popeyes is sold out of chicken sandwiches nationwide after selling through a batch in 2 weeks that was supposed to last until October

The most recent juggernaut was Popeyes' chicken sandwich. But, there have been a handful of other menu items that have similarly possessed the American imagination. 

Here are six menu launches in American history that were bigger than anyone could have anticipated. 

SEE ALSO: 'I was working like a slave': Exhausted Popeyes employees describe a harrowing situation amid chicken-sandwich chaos, including working 60-hour weeks and shifts with no breaks

McDonald's Teenie Beanie Baby Happy Meals

Year: 1997

Chaos: Significant, with collectors showing up and demanding Beanie Babies as soon as a new Happy Meal launched

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: None, but we have Wall Street Journal with "Teenie Beanie Babies Generate Big Buzz, Thrilling McDonald's."

Someone who worked at McDonald's during the Beanie Baby boom reminded me of the frenzy that accompanied Teenie Beanie Baby drops when I was sought suggestions for out-of-control menu item launches on Twitter.

Happy Meals, accompanied by limited-time Teenie Beanie Babies, would swiftly sell out as Beanie Baby fanatics rushed to the chain at 10:30 am, when McDonald's began selling lunch. The partnership between McDonald's and Beanie Babies continued until the Beanie bubble burst around the turn of the millennium. 

KFC's Double Down

Year: 2010

Chaos: Significant, though the buzz surpassed sales

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: The Times' food critic Sam Sifton reviewed the menu item, stalked by the "geek paparazzi" at Eater. His verdict: "a slimy and unnaturally moist thing, with flavor ginned up in a lab."

America lost its mind when KFC rolled out a menu item that sandwiches cheese and bacon between two pieces of fried chicken. 

"This is deep-fried madness," Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert said of the sandwich when it launched. "This is breaded insanity. It is a sandwich that lacks all sandwich-ness. It's like an edible Hieronymus Bosch painting wrapped in a paper straitjacket. If a sandwich has no buns, can it truly be called a sandwich?"

Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco

Year: 2012

Chaos: Mitigated by the 15,000 extra workers 

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: The Times is on it: Looks Like a Taco, Tastes Like a Chip

The Doritos Locos Taco was so successful it essentially fueled Taco Bell's turnaround when it launched in 2012. 

The chain sold more than a billion Doritos Locos Tacos in the first year, hiring an estimated 15,000 workers to keep up with demand.

"The idea sounds really simple, but it has to deliver on two fronts: the classic Taco Bell taste and the distinctive Doritos experience," Taco Bell product developer Steven Gomez told Business Insider."Unlike a tortilla chip, taco shells can't break, and have to properly hold the taco ingredients."

Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino

Year: 2017

Chaos: A few days of horror

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: 'Unicorn Food' Is Colorful, Sparkly and Everywhere" at The Times

The Unicorn Frappuccino was one of the first major made-for-Instagram menu items to break into the mainstream. To this day, Starbucks executives say it was the "most viral" drink launch of all time. 

The color-changing Frappuccino, which was only supposed to be available for four days, was also a nightmare for workers to make. Fortunately, most stores sold out in just a day or two. 

"We ran out of unicorn frappuccino ingredients after the first day....we sold 508 unicorn f----- frappuccinos in ONE F------ DAY!" one barista wrote.

McDonald's Szechuan Sauce

Year: 2017

Chaos: People were rioting in parking lots

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: Things got so bad, The Times had to write up the outrage.

Fans of the cartoon "Rick and Morty" spent most of 2017 trying to force McDonald's to bring back Szechuan McNugget sauce. When McDonald's obliged, with a "really, really limited" rollout of the sauce at a handful of locations, customers were furious at the limited supply.

In Wellington, Florida, police were called to one location. In New York City, crowds of angry customers formed. 

McDonald's eventually brought the sauce back to all locations. But, when customers finally had a chance to try the sauce, many were disappointed that it didn't live up to the hype. 

Read more:People are furious at McDonald's after it brought back Szechuan McNugget sauce — but not enough for 'Rick and Morty' fans

Popeyes' Chicken Sandwich

Year: 2019

Chaos: Workers were being threatened by hungry customers as chicken sandwiches sold out

New Yorker/New York Times coverage: The New Yorker's Helen Rosner proclaimed: "Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Here to Save America."

By far the biggest menu item launch of 2019, Popeyes chicken sandwich exploded on the scene thanks to a Twitter battle with Chick-fil-A. The chain's social media war for the title of best chicken sandwich kicked off endless debate — and sent thousands of people to Popeyes. 

Workers were exhausted and ready to quit, as restaurants quickly ran out of sandwiches. Supply which was supposed to last two months sold out in just two weeks. 

Did we forget a menu item? Email ktaylor@businessinsider.com to let me know. 

• KFC is organizing and paying for six chicken-themed weddings for Australian couples who are planning to get married between November 2019 and May 2020.
• The fast food giant has promised to supply its famous fried chicken out of a KFC food truck along with chicken-themed decorations, music, activities, and more for each of the weddings.
• In order to score a free reception, couples have to submit 200 words online by October 18 describing why a KFC wedding would be their dream celebration.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

KFC is planning to throw weddings for six chicken-loving couples this upcoming year — and it sounds cluckin' awesome.

The fast food giant is offering to organize and pay for the chicken-themed weddings of six Australian couples who plan to get married between November 2019 and May 2020, according to the company's wedding page.

Inspired by the sheer volume of marriage proposals that have taken place in KFC restaurants around the world, the fast food giant has promised to supply its famous fried chicken out of a KFC food truck for up to 200 guests, along with chicken-themed decorations, activities, and more for each of the six weddings.

"Over the years we have heard of some incredible proposals from fans taking place in our restaurants in Australia and around the world," Nikki Lawson, managing director at KFC Australia, said via a press release obtained by Fox News.

Selected couples will receive everything from an officiant to a photo booth, plus custom KFC buckets, music, and more at their KFC wedding.

But Colonel Sanders isn't paying the entire bill. KFC notes that it won't cover costs for the venue, transportation, or alcohol — although it will bring along plenty of non-alcoholic beverages to help wash down the chicken. 

In order to score a free reception, couples have to submit 200 words online by October 18 that describe why a KFC wedding would be their dream celebration.

A committee will then choose the six couples — who must be Australian residents who are over the age of 18 and already engaged — based on the creativity and originality of their responses.

Entries are open to couples "regardless of gender, sexual preference, religion, or age," according to the company.

Read more: 36 food and drink names that you're probably mispronouncing

• Read more:
• Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte may be the beverage of the fall, but I'd rather drink the new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew every day
• A Dunkin' employee says she was sent to Burger King locations during the Impossible Whopper debut to hand out $5 gift cards
• Getting food to victims of Hurricane Dorian is a logistical nightmare. Here's how a group of volunteer chefs is feeding 10,000 people a day against the odds.
• The highest-calorie menu items you can order from American restaurant chains, including Cheesecake Factory pancakes to Chili's hamburgers

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Jeff Bezos is worth over $160 billion — here's how the world's richest man makes and spends his money

• A senior KFC executive said it pulled a bunch of healthier meals from menus in its UK restaurants because no one was buying them.
• KFC scrapped the "Brazer grilled chicken sandwich" in 2011, the "Rancher sandwich" in 2012, and a "pulled chicken" offering in 2015, all marketed with lower calorie counts.
• "They were just not selling. It's no good launching a product which looks good nutritionally but then nobody buys," Jenny Packwood, KFC UK and Ireland's head of brand engagement said.
• Packwood, speaking at Public Health England's 2019 conference, said "health by stealth," where chains slowly lower salt and fat levels, is how KFC aims to get fast-food lovers to eat more healthily.
• The UK is KFC's fifth-largest global market, with around 900 franchises in the country.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. 

KFC says it took several healthier, non-fried products off menus in the UK because nobody was buying them.

"It didn't go brilliantly well. We tried and we failed to launch a non-fried product," Jenny Packwood, KFC UK and Ireland's head of brand engagement, told attendees at Public Health England's 2019 conference on Wednesday.

"We were unable to sustain sales. They were just not selling."

"It's no good launching a product which looks good nutritionally but then nobody buys."

KFC scrapped the "Brazer grilled chicken sandwich" in 2011, the "Rancher sandwich" in 2012, and a "pulled chicken" meal in 2015 due to lackluster sales, The Times of London reported.

The UK is KFC's fifth-largest global market, with around 900 franchises in the country.

Read more: I tasted KFC's meatless fried 'chicken' dishes and even though they look like the real thing, they didn't taste like it

Packwood said KFC UK has found that the best way to lure customers toward healthier options is by the "health by stealth" technique — where fast-food chains very slowly lower fat, calorie, and salt levels over time.

She also added that KFC UK once altered its chips to be thicker, so they absorbed less oil, which cut calories by 18% and fat by 12%, but that the move received "a lot of grief."

Read more:KFC rolls out first plant-based fried 'chicken' with Beyond Meat

Public Health England — the UK's health advisory body run out of the Department of Health — will soon cap the maximum calories in any ready meal to 544 calories, The Telegraph newspaper reported in December 2018, citing the draft proposal.

A large number of popular, medium-sized meals from UK fast food outlets like KFC currently exceed that threshold. For instance, a six-piece "Bargain Bucket" meal is 610 calories, according to the KFC UK nutrition index.  

The KFC "Fillet Box Meal"— which contains a chicken burger, chicken drumstick, fries, side, and drink— is 1045 calories.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: An authentication expert at The RealReal showed us how to spot fake designer accessories

• In a major strategic shift, McDonald's hired the independent agency Wieden and Kennedy to run its US creative advertising as the fast-food chain tries to keep up with its buzzier rival Burger King.
• Wieden and Kennedy is best known as the lead agency for Nike, Bud Light, Old Spice, and Delta.
• In an internal memo at Wieden and Kennedy, agency leadership positioned the win as a victory for creativity over pure data, in a dig at bigger rivals.
• We Are Unlimited, an entity launched by the holding company Omnicom in 2016 to handle the McDonald's business, did not pitch for the business.
• In another first, McDonald's will also allow Wieden and Kennedy to continue serving as the agency of record for its rival KFC.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

McDonald's took a 180-degree strategic turn this month by choosing the independent agency Wieden and Kennedy to lead its creative-advertising business in the US after an extended review. 

According to an internal memo that Wieden leadership sent out to all staff when the news went live on Friday afternoon, the win marked a repudiation of the biggest industry trend in recent years, in which agencies hyped their ability to use consumer data as the key factor in creating and targeting ads.

Read more: McDonald's bought an AI speech company to take the human interaction out of drive-thrus

In the memo, Colleen DeCourcy and Tom Blessington, the agency's copresidents, positioned the win as a victory for "the power of creativity," arguing that the quality of their team's creative concepts, in combination with "insight" and "intelligence" drawn from internal market research, beat out the numbers and algorithms presented by the Big Four holding company Omnicom.

McDonald's is the largest fast-food chain by revenue, but its marketing efforts have not earned the industry plaudits of rivals like Burger King, which scored the top prize at this summer's Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity for the "Whopper Detour" campaign that let customers buy a Whopper for one penny — but only if they visited a nearby McDonald's first.

Omnicom's stock price has fallen by about 3% since news of the loss went live on Friday.

McDonald's picked Nike's longtime agency in a pivot toward more focus on creative excellence

The Portland, Oregon-based Wieden and Kennedy is best-known as the agency behind Nike's ubiquitous 30-year-old "Just Do It" campaign, Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like," and, more recently, Bud Light's "Dilly Dilly."

Wieden and Kennedy defeated the Omnicom-owned competitors TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and Adam&eveDDB in a nine-month review that began as a pitch for a single project but evolved into a race to lead McDonald's ad business in the biggest fast-food market.

A sign of the significance of Wieden and Kennedy's win is that incumbent We Are Unlimited, a Chicago-based entity that Omnicom created to service the McDonald's account in 2016 after beating out its rival Publicis, was not involved in the pitch at all. We Are Unlimited is part of Omnicom's DDB Worldwide network, and DDB Worldwide CEO Wendy Clark and former McDonald's Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl described it at its launch as the"agency of the future." We Are Unlimited promoted itself as having "digital and data at the heart" and included "embedded teams" from companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Adobe working alongside its own employees.

In an uncharacteristically sharp rebuke to the competition, Wieden and Kennedy's memo said that We Are Unlimited has now been "relegated to an operational role" on the McDonald's business, though it will retain a small portion of the work it previously handled for the client.

Subsequently, Wieden and Kennedy provided a statement emphasizing the partnership between the two agencies. "We Are Unlimited is an important partner that brings deep expertise about the brand to the table, and we look forward to working closely with them," it read. "McDonalds' renewed commitment to the power of creativity is a testament to where the brand is headed. Being successful today requires a marriage between the human ways that creativity is able to evoke feelings and bring out the soul of a brand and the insights that lead to the brand's voice creativity will always be rooted in data and strategy."

"We remain a proud partner with McDonald's and are working closely across both the McDonald's and We Are Unlimited teams to ensure we remain focused on our shared goals and priorities," said a statement that a We Are Unlimited representative provided to Business Insider in response to the Wieden and Kennedy memo.

In a press release announcing the change, Morgan Flatley, McDonald's chief marketing officer and a former PepsiCo executive, thanked the team "for their work over the last three years supporting key moments in our transformation and operational excellence."

The chain also abandoned past policies in agreeing to share an agency partner with its rival KFC

According to sources with direct knowledge of the business, the final section of the memo, which is cut off in the version obtained by Business Insider, discussed how Wieden and Kennedy would manage an apparent conflict between McDonald's and another longtime fast-food client, KFC.

These sources said both companies agreed to allow Wieden and Kennedy to participate in the review — a significant strategic shift among fast-food brands. Traditionally, such companies forbade their agencies from working with direct competitors. To avoid overlap, one source said the two accounts would be strictly separated in different offices, with Wieden and Kennedy Portland handling KFC and Wieden and Kennedy New York working on McDonald's. Unspecified "IT safeguards" will also ensure that the brands' accounts do not conflict with one another.

McDonald's declined to comment beyond its own press release, and representatives for KFC and its parent company, Yum Brands, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the data-insights company Kantar Media, McDonald's spent $765 million on advertising in the US last year.

See the memo below.

SEE ALSO: Burger King's CMO explains why the biggest risk in marketing is not taking one

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Burger King's CMO explains why the biggest risk in marketing is not taking one

• KFC is adding doughnuts to the menu alongside fried chicken at more than 40 locations in Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia, and Pittsburgh.
• Customers can order a combination of fried chicken and doughnuts, as well as a sandwich that wedges fried chicken between two glazed doughnuts.
• The sandwich is already polarizing people on social media.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

KFC is now serving doughnuts at dozens of locations.

On Tuesday, the fried-chicken chain announced that it was testing its "Chicken and Donuts" menu items for a limited time at more than 40 locations in Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia, and Pittsburgh.

The options are a basket that pairs chicken on the bone or chicken tenders with one or two doughnuts, and a sandwich with a chicken fillet between two glazed doughnuts.

Read more:From McDonald's Szechuan Sauce to the Popeyes' sandwich: 6 out-of-control fast-food menu launches that shook America to its core

The chicken-and-doughnut meal will cost $5.50 for one doughnut and $7.50 for two doughnuts. The sandwich is priced at $6, or as a combo meal for $8. KFC said customers can also add a doughnut — served hot — to any meal for $1.

KFC said in a press release that it was using the test to evaluate whether customers are craving chicken and doughnuts on a national scale.

According to a representative, the doughnuts will arrive at stores already cooked, and when a customer orders them, the doughnuts will be dipped in the fryers and glazed with a vanilla icing to ensure they are hot and fresh.

The fried-chicken/doughnut mashup is already polarizing people on social media.

Some saw the menu item as a dangerous option for KFC to offer.

Some people were intrigued.

Some blamed KFC's new test on Popeyes' recent super-successful chicken sandwich.

While many people were shocked by KFC's chicken-and-doughnut sandwich, the concept isn't entirely new. Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken, a chain in Chicago, serves a similar menu item, as does Sam's Fried Chicken & Donuts in Houston.

KFC said in the press release that chicken and doughnuts have recently been trendy in areas including Philadelphia, San Diego, and Portland, Oregon.

SEE ALSO: KFC rolls out first plant-based fried 'chicken' with Beyond Meat

Join the conversation about this story »

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• KFC is testing a "Chicken and Donuts" menu in 40 restaurants that features fried chicken sandwiched between two glazed doughnuts.
• I tried the new menu and I think KFC should roll it out nationwide.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

KFC is testing a "Chicken and Donuts" menu that features pairings of glazed doughnuts and the chain's classic fried chicken.

One of the new menu items is a fried-chicken-and-doughnut sandwich. Customers can also order a basket of fried chicken on the bone or chicken tenders with one or two doughnuts or add a doughnut to any meal for $1.

I tried the new menu at a KFC restaurant in a Chester, Virginia location, and I now think that KFC should make the chicken-and-doughnut sandwich available nationwide.

Here's why:

SEE ALSO: Social-media battles, massive crowds, and overworked employees: Inside the rise and fall of Popeyes' chicken sandwich

I arrived at a KFC restaurant in Chester, Virginia around lunchtime on Wednesday.

The new menu was prominently advertised on signs outside the restaurant, at the entrance, and at the ordering counter.

I ordered a chicken-and-doughnut sandwich combo meal for $7.99 and a three-piece chicken-tender basket with a donut for $5.49.

My order was ready within three minutes. As soon as I opened the box containing the chicken-and-doughnut sandwich, my senses were overwhelmed with an intensely sweet smell of sugar.

The sandwich was piping hot — too hot to pick up. This is probably because the doughnuts had just come out of the fryer.

A KFC representative told Business Insider's Kate Taylor that the doughnuts are shipped to restaurants already cooked.

When a customer orders them, the doughnuts are dipped in fryers and glazed.

Once the sandwich had cooled down a bit, I took a bite.

The savory flavoring of the chicken overpowered the sweetness of the doughnut in the best possible way.

The doughnut acted as a honey-sweet accent to the chicken, which was the main event.

Next, I tried the chicken-and-doughnut basket.

On their own, the doughnuts were a bit soggy and altogether unremarkable.

They were denser than a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Their taste resembled a fried-and-glazed potato roll. This consistency and flavor works really well when paired with chicken. But I probably wouldn't order the doughnuts on their own.

I came away thinking that the chicken-and-doughnut sandwich could be a real hit, even with doughnuts that on their own are underwhelming.

I might not be alone. One KFC employee said the sandwiches are so popular that they are "flying out the window."

If the recent craze over Popeyes sold-out chicken sandwich is any indication, Americans can't get enough chicken sandwiches. And KFC's chicken-and-doughnut creation would help feed that demand in a new and different way.

• We tried KFC's Fried Chicken & Donuts sandwich. The item is being tested at 40 locations in parts of Virginia, as well as in Pittsburgh.
• The sandwich is comprised of one piece of boneless fried chicken and two glazed donuts. 
• Business Insider's Graham Flanagan got his hands on the high-calorie snack at a KFC location in Powhatan, Virginia.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Fried chicken is one of my favorite foods.
• I had some of the best fried chicken I've ever had at Bonchon Chicken, a fried chicken restaurant chain from South Korea.
• Bonchon's fried chicken was like candy: The skin's crisp was immaculate, the sauce was well-rounded and flavorful, and the meat slid right off the bone. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

I've eaten more fried chicken in the last week than I've eaten in the last year. I ate and compared chicken wings for my taste test to find the best.

I'm sick of fried chicken, and I love fried chicken.

But something good came out of all my heartburn: I ate the best fried chicken I've ever tasted at a small but rapidly-expanding fried chicken chain from Korea: Bonchon Chicken. The chain won my taste test, beating out all the classic American chains.

Read more: I'm a feminist millennial woman who just ate at Hooters for the first time. Here's why I'd definitely go back.

Chicken and beer is a known phenomenon in Korea. And abroad, Bonchon Chicken is growing. Although there are currently 87 Bonchon restaurants in the US, the chain says it is looking to grow that number to 300-400 restaurants in the next five years.

I believe Korean fried chicken will take over the world. And all it took was one visit to an NYC Bonchon location to convince me.

SEE ALSO: I ate chicken wings from 5 major chains, and a little-known newcomer beat out all the classics

I went to one of the Bonchon locations in Midtown Manhattan.

The restaurant's interior was sleek and casual. It was heavy on the wood and had a vaguely bar-like feel. I mean, there was a bar, just no bar seating.

The space was dark and fairly sparse. There were no decorations at any of the tables, and lighting was industrial.

Although the place didn't otherwise have much of a sports bar feel, there were posters advertising beer-and-sports-centered happy hours.

Like at many Korean restaurants, there were K-Pop and R&B music videos projected on the wall.

For 13.99, I received a 10-piece order of bone-in chicken wings.

You can choose two different flavors if you like, so I chose spicy and soy garlic.

I started with a spicy wing. It felt slightly heavier than an American wing.

As soon as I bit into the sweet, crispy, sticky skin, I knew I had an international treasure in my hand. The sauce was incorporated into the skin, yet it was super flavorful. It was savory, sweet, and brought the heat.

And under the skin, the chicken was just as melt-in-your-mouth juicy and soft as I'd hoped. It was flavorful without being oversalted.

Next, I tried a wing from the soy garlic sauce side.

While the skin was just as marvelously crispy and sticky, I found this sauce to be slightly too salty. The chicken underneath, however, was still perfect.

Read more: I tried 4 salads from fast food chains, and Chick-fil-A's finally convinced me not all its food is trash

Instead of sauce and celery sticks or carrots, Bonchon offers a choice of pickled radish or coleslaw. I chose the pickled radish because pickled things give me life.

These were refreshingly tart, light, and crunchy. They tasted like a dash of vinegar and salt, but the radish underneath was sweet and bitter. The perfect break from double-fried chicken wings.

There were about a thousand calories in ten wings, so I promised myself I'd stop after just a few. But they were just so...

Freaking...

Good.

In the end, I ate six or seven. But who's counting?

At the end of my meal, my stomach felt like it had been stuffed with fat, salt, and protein, which it had been. But my mouth was very, very happy. I guess that's the nature of candy: it's not good for you, but you want more.

And just like candy, every piece of Bonchon Chicken is a treat. Move over, Kentucky Fried Chicken, there's a newer, hotter KFC in town: Korean fried chicken.

• "I Love you Colonel Sanders: A Finger Licking Good Dating Simulator" is a free video game created by KFC and Psyop.
• The game is a parody of Japanese dating simulators and light novel games — text-based adventures with multiple storylines and different endings.
• It's a shameless marketing stunt from KFC, but it can't hurt you any more than KFC's new fried chicken and glazed donuts menu.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two weeks ago KFC stunned video game fans by announcing a brand new game starring the company's mascot, Colonel Sanders. Things got even weirder when the game was revealed to be a dating simulator with Colonel Sanders as the prized companion.

I'm still shocked to confirm to you that "I Love You Colonel Sanders: A Finger Licking Good Dating Simulator" is a real video game, and you can now play it for free on your PC or Mac.

In "I Love You Colonel Sanders," players enroll in a cooking class alongside Colonel Sanders and try to win his heart with cooking expertise and clever conversation. KFC's game is a parody of traditional dating sim games — these text-based adventures are popular in Japan and usually let the player pursue a partner from a collection of males or females. Players are faced with a series of conversation choices as they try to romance the character of their choosing.

Unsurprisingly, all of your attention in KFC's game is dedicated to the Colonel, but the formula remains the same. You'll have to talk your way through three days at the cooking school with the Colonel and a colorful cast of characters, and at the end you'll find out if you managed to win the Colonel's love. The game takes about an hour to complete, but you can replay it to see new endings and slightly different story routes.

Read more:KFC is serving fried chicken sandwiched between 2 glazed doughnuts at dozens of locations, and people are freaking out

"I Love You Colonel Sanders" is ripe with anime clichés and character tropes poking fun at Japan's popular dating simulators, so you might miss out on some of the jokes if you're not familiar with the genre. Frankly, the game's constant use of anime stereotypes will probably be annoying to fans of regular dating sims, and reinforces stereotypes about Japan and anime culture that were probably best left in the 90s.

In recent years the dating sim genre has become more popular in the queer community for allowing players to experience complex narratives involving gay, bisexual, and polyamorous relationships. "I Love You Colonel Sanders" draws from the worst parts of the genre for comedic effect.

While the free game is an obvious marketing stunt for KFC, "I Love You Colonel Sanders" is a complete game and clearly took some hard work to produce. Producing a detailed text-based adventure like this still requires original art, character designs, and decent writing to keep the conversations flowing. Psyop, the studio that produced the game, released another text adventure called "Camp W" last year, so they had a bit of prior experience in the genre.

I can't recommend that anyone else play KFC's dating sim, but it certainly can't be worse for you than KFC's new fried chicken & doughnut sandwich.

Here's a closer look at what it's like to play "I Love You Colonel Sanders: A Finger Licking Good Dating Simulator:"

SEE ALSO: KFC is serving fried chicken sandwiched between 2 glazed doughnuts at dozens of locations, and people are freaking out

"I Love You Colonel Sanders" starts with an anime-inspired opening introducing you to the game's cast.

You start on the first day of school at "University of Cooking School Academy for Learning," where you're introduced to your best friend and a pair of rival chefs.

Pretty much every character at the school represents a different anime trope, including Professor Dog, a talking corgi.

You're quickly introduced to the star of the show, Colonel Sanders himself.

You'll be able to choose from a collection of conversation options to try and win the Colonel's heart.

If you pick the right options, you'll quickly find yourself caught in a whirlwind of romance with KFC's mascot.

Every now and then you'll be challenged with a quiz or competition that will determine which way the story goes.

Though "I Love You Colonel Sanders" isn't exactly hard to finish, it's still possible to hit the Game Over screen.

As you get deeper into the story, things just get more and more outrageous. I ended up making friends with this spork monster named Borko.

While the game is relatively harmless fun, there's no ignoring that it's a marketing stunt for KFC.

Seriously, expect to see tons of KFC menu items prominently displayed across the screen.

In a surprise twist, I managed to earn the Colonel's love at the end of the game, but he didn't respect my chef skills enough to make me his partner. Maybe I can impress him on another playthrough?

In the end, "I Love You Colonel Sanders" is another viral marketing stunt from KFC, but it's a complete game and could certainly be much worse.

• KFC is adding chicken wings to the menu on Thursday. 
• With the wings hitting menus in time for football season, Sean Astin will star in commercials as "Colonel Rudy," an obvious reference to his role as an underdog football star in the movie "Rudy." 
• The wings will join KFC's menu as a permanent option, available without sauce or tossed in Nashville Hot, Buffalo, or Honey BBQ sauce. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

KFC is adding chicken wings to the menu. 

Kentucky Fried Wings will hit menus on Thursday, according to the chicken chain. The wings will join KFC's menu as a permanent option, available classic (without sauce) or tossed in Nashville Hot, Buffalo, or Honey BBQ sauce. 

Read more:From McDonald's Szechuan Sauce to the Popeyes' sandwich: 6 out-of-control fast-food menu launches that shook America to its core

To market the wings, KFC has recruited a new Colonel Sanders, Sean Astin, as "Colonel Rudy." Astin's stint as the Colonel alludes to Astin's famous performance as Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, an underdog football star. 

KFC is adding wings to the menu as football season kicks off. It's a time of year when wings chains typically cash in on sales from tailgates and people watching games at home. A six-piece will cost $5, a 12-piece will cost $9.99, a 24-piece will cost $18.99, and a 48-piece will cost $36.99. 

Customers can get free delivery on wings and other KFC menu items via Grubhub and Seamless until late November. KFC says it has eliminated wait times for wings, thanks to its frying process. 

"You would be hard pressed to find hot and fresh wings without the wait anywhere else," Andrea Zahumensky, KFC's US chief marketing officer, said in a statement. "Whether you are Team Nashville Hot or Team Honey BBQ, our Kentucky Fried Wings are available on demand, revolutionizing your gameday dining experience."

SEE ALSO: KFC is serving fried chicken sandwiched between 2 glazed doughnuts at dozens of locations, and people are freaking out

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These melons can sell for as much as $22,500 each in Japan

• KFC added chicken wings to its permanent menu on Thursday.
• The wings are available in four flavors: Nashville Hot, Buffalo, Honey BBQ, and classic (without sauce.)
• We gathered a team of taste testers to give these wings a subjective evaluation.
• The verdict? We liked the Nashville Hot sauce, but aside from that, the wings were a total disappointment.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

No one asked for KFC to add chicken wings to its permanent menu, yet here they are.

The chain announced on Wednesday that it would offer chicken wings nationwide beginning on Thursday, just as the football season gets into full swing. 

Because it is our job to collectively taste every newfangled menu item that fast-food chains come up with, we assembled a council of chicken chompers to take on KFC's newest creation.

Read more:We tried KFC's new Cheetos sandwich — and it was shockingly good

Here's how our feast unfolded:

SEE ALSO: I ate chicken wings from 5 major chains, and a little-known newcomer beat out all the classics

We tried all four flavors: Nashville Hot, Buffalo, Honey BBQ, and classic (without sauce). They came with cups of ranch dipping sauce.

Buffalo is the classic chicken wing flavor, so naturally we went for those first. But at first glance, it was hard to tell which pieces were flat wings and which were drumsticks.

One taste tester noted the wing's soggy texture and lumpy shape.

She was displeased by the soft, fatty skin and excess breading. The Buffalo sauce, too, wasn't very spicy or flavorful.

We were also confused by the classic wings, which didn't have any sauce on them. Aren't sauce-less wings just regular KFC chicken?

Another tester dug into the Buffalo wings, but was immediately confounded by a technical difficulty.

Her wing was too wide for the ranch cup! Frustrated, this taste tester ultimately wrangled her wing into the cup lengthwise.

But even with a coating of sauce, she found the wings to be absolutely not worth the bite.

Another taste tester bit into a drumstick and was immediately off-put by the messy, fatty meat inside. However, we did concede that at least the wings weren't tough and overcooked, which is a fairly common problem with chain restaurant wings.

Since the Buffalo wings weren't spicy at all, we decided to go up a notch to the Nashville Hot.

These tasted slightly better. The sauce had a decent kick and was much more flavorful than the Buffalo. However, the chicken was still way too fatty.

We also felt that the breading was too loose, and that there was too much of it.

We like wings, but we're not sure about KFC's wings. The chain's new creations are generally hit or miss, and this one was a definite miss.

• There are plenty of fast-food restaurants across America that will satisfy your chicken cravings. 
• Chick-fil-A is a classic favorite known for its nuggets, chicken sandwich, and signature sauce.
• Bojangles, which is known for its chicken and biscuits, has a loyal following in the South. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

When a craving for fast-food chicken hits, there are plenty of restaurant options. Fast-food stops like Chick-fil-A and PDQ offer up nuggets and sandwiches, while KFC and Popeyes serve crispy fried chicken on-the-go. 

Whether you're in the mood for grilled nuggets or buffalo wings, here are the 10 best fast-food spots for chicken. 

Popeyes' fried chicken is available in spicy or mild flavors.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen opened in 1972 to sell spicy, New Orleans-style chicken. Then it grew into the second-largest chicken chain in the US.

Popeyes' fried chicken is crispy, tender, and full of flavor — possibly, even better than KFC's. From the menu, you'll want to dig into the chicken tenders. You can order them mild, spicy, or blackened depending on your mood. 

The chain also made waves recently with its new chicken sandwich that sold out instantly. 

Wingstop lets you choose from multiple sauces and dry rubs.

"Wings from the wings experts" is the motto of this Texas-based chicken chain. Wingstop opened its doors in 1994, and since then, it has expanded to more than 1,250 restaurants worldwide and its growth hasn't slowed down. With a menu full of wings, fries, and sides, you can't go wrong here. 

Customers can mix-and-match boneless and classic wings, then choose up to two flavors to douse them in. Go sweet with the hickory-smoked barbecue classic, or turn up the heat with spicy Korean Q. Some say that Wingstop reigns supreme in the spicy chicken wing war. 

Chick-fil-A's menu is relatively simple.

Chick-fil-A is a classic favorite fast-food restaurant based in Atlanta, Georgia. Chick-fil-A is now the third-largest restaurant chain in the US and continues to scare rivals with its growth. 

Fans of the chain recommend the Chick-fil-A nuggets, spicy chicken sandwich, and famous waffle fries — all dipped in the chain's signature Chick-fil-A sauce.

Chick-fil-A is not without controversy. The chain continues to receive backlash for its CEO's 2012 comments in opposition to same-sex marriage. The chain also continues to donate to groups that critics say are anti-gay. But its controversy does not always dissuade customers, with Business Insider readers saying the chain has the best food, customer service, and bathrooms.  

Zaxby's offers everything from wing and tenders to grilled chicken and sandwiches.

Zaxby's boasts "absolutely craveable chicken."It's not the biggest chicken chain in America, but it is growing rapidly. Zaxby's has an extensive menu filled with wings, tenders, grilled chicken, chicken sandwiches, and a whole heap of sides.

If you're indecisive, Zaxby's offers a combo deal where you can try wings and things to get a taste of different items and flavors. It's all about dunking the chicken in the signature sauces at Zaxby's, and luckily, you can calculate your "saucenality" before making a choice. 

Buffalo Wild Wings has a lot of options for fans of spicy food.

Sure, Buffalo Wild Wings is more of a bar food kind of place, but it also specializes in all things chicken. The chain started in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982 and you can now find one in each state. Buffalo Wild Wings is in the middle of a comeback after the Arby's parent company Inspire Brands acquired the restaurant in 2018. This includes adding a take-out window to increase emphasis on its to-go business.

But what makes Buffalo Wild Wings worth it? Variety. It has a huge selection of dry rubs and sauces to toss your wings in, depending on how spicy you can handle your food. The classic buffalo wings are a good place to start if you're having trouble navigating the menu.

Read more: We tested Buffalo Wild Wings against its biggest competitor — here's the verdict

Bojangles is a Southern chain known for its chicken and biscuits.

Bojangles was founded in 1977 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has expanded to over 728 locations in the South. The chain is known for its chicken and biscuits and says that its chicken is never frozen. It also has a reputation for adding a Cajun flair to its meals. The regional chicken chain has been on an expansion spree over the past two years, hoping to catch up to its rival, Church's Chicken.

The menu is simple with options such as the Cajun filet sandwich and two-piece dinner with a leg and thigh. But it's all about Bojangles' chicken supremes, which are crunchy chicken tenders that go great with a freshly baked biscuit. 

Read more: Here's what it's like to eat at the Southern fried-chicken chain whose diehard fans say is better than KFC and Popeyes

You can order spicy or original chicken combos at Church's Chicken.

At Church's Chicken, you'll be greeted with big portions and a "down-home" flavor. The chain first opened as a "fried chicken to-go" restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, in 1952. Now, it has over 1,000 locations worldwide.

The menu is simple and a popular order is a two-piece combo or the tender strips. Each meal comes with the option to choose between spicy or original chicken. 

Raising Cane's is the go-to restaurant for chicken fingers.

Raising Cane's is one of the lesser-known chains on this list, but it shouldn't be overlooked. The chicken restaurant started in Louisiana and has since spread across the South, with just over 430 locations in America.

It's all about fried chicken here as it offers a limited menu of chicken fingers, fries, coleslaw, and toast. But what it lacks in options, it makes up in quality. Its focus is on cooking crispy chicken fingers, which are even placed onto a sandwich. Raising Cane's provides a tasty Southern meal that gets better when you dunk everything in Cane's sauce. 

KFC's fried chicken is rolled in a secret blend of herbs and spices.

The Louisville-based chain began cooking crispy fried chicken over 70 years ago. Now, the Kentucky company has expanded to over 21,000 locations in 130 countries. KFC's slogan is "Finger Lickin' Good!" and many people seem to agree.

The fried chicken is rolled in a secret blend of herbs and spices and then pressure cooked for a better taste. Popular items include the extra crispy chicken bucket, popcorn chicken, and the crispy colonel sandwich. The president of KFC's US business told Business Insider that the chain plans to innovate its menu in 2019 to include options such as chicken and waffles and Cinnabon biscuits.

Read more: I tasted KFC's meatless fried 'chicken' dishes and even though they look like the real thing, they didn't taste like it

PDQ offers a variety of sandwiches, including Honey Butter and Grilled Chicken.

PDQ stands for "People Dedicated to Quality" and that's the mission at this fast-food restaurant. It first appeared in Tampa, Florida, in 2011 and has since expanded to locations across 11 states.

PDQ likes to keep it fresh and fast by using farm-fresh chicken. The menu is full of nuggets, tenders, salads, and a variety of sandwiches, including Honey Butter Chicken and Pimento Crunch. 

• Read more:
• 44 foods you can get at your favorite chain restaurants that are under 500 calories
• 10 of the best spicy items you can order at fast-food chains
• What 14 chefs order at fast-food restaurants
• 20 fast-food meals you can get for $5

Hello from The Drive-Thru, Business Insider's weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about shopping, fast food, and more. I'm Kate Taylor, and I cover restaurants as a senior retail correspondent at BI.

You can sign up to become a Drive-Thru subscriber here to get a rundown on what the largest retail companies in the world are up to. Plus, I'll break down how these decisions impact everyone from Wall Street to grocery-store cashiers.

Kroger layoffs spark fear and chaos.

Every week since I launched this newsletter, the top story has been how corporate restructuring has made the lives of in-store workers miserable. This week, Kroger is following in Target and Lowe's footsteps. 

After breaking the story that Kroger was restructuring, Hayley Peterson talked to 11 workers about what the changes will look like. So far, workers are reporting chaos and uncertainty. According to one employee, the hundreds of workers affected by the changes were told one of four things: they would be laid off, fired, transferred, or demoted.

"I was in shock," said the employee, who said she expected the change to wipe out a third of her annual income. "I just wanted to get out of that meeting, go to my car, and call my husband and cry."

In 2017, Kroger launched a transformation plan called "Restock Kroger," aiming to boost online grocery sales and improve profitability. Last month, the company announced it wouldn't hit its three-year target of $400 million in incremental operating profit. 

Kroger and other corporate "restructuring" efforts often mean swapping full-time positions for part-time shift jobs. A new report from the Shift Project at the University of California reveals how dangerous this can be for workers. A survey of 30,000 retail and food service industry workers found that two-thirds said they have less than two weeks' notice of their shifts. One in three went hungry or relied on free food because they couldn't afford to buy their own.

Read the full story on Kroger's restructuring here. If you have tips or a story to share about corporate restructuring, email retail@businessinsider.com.

Sears and Kmart are closing at least 121 stores by January.

Hayley has also been hunting down exactly how many more Sears stores are closing. The answer: at least 121. 

That means that there will be fewer than 300 Sears and Kmart stores left after the holiday season. When Transform Holdco bought Sears out of bankruptcy in February, the company had roughly 400 Sears and Kmart stores. 

Since August, Transform Holdco hasn't been announcing these closures (thus, the hunting from Hayley). The only way to figure out if Sears is closing even more stores is via company filings, local media, or simply calling up stores and asking if they're shutting down. 

Get the full list of stores that are shutting down here.

Ghost kitchens are taking over fast food. 

In fittingly spooky news this October, chains are buzzing about ghost kitchens.

A ghost kitchen — sometimes called a dark kitchen — is a location that purely functions as a delivery business. In some cases, this kitchen can be shared by multiple chains. Kitchen United uses that model, recently raising $40 million in Series B funding to build more commercial kitchens that serve as a delivery location for 10 to 15 different brands. 

Wendy's, Chick-fil-A, The Halal Guys, and Sweetgreen are jumping on the ghost-kitchen bandwagon. Since restaurant executives are obsessed with talking about delivery and tech, I'm predicting the ghost kitchen trend will continue long after the Halloween decorations come down. 

Read my full story on the trend of ghost kitchens here.

RIP Barneys?

Barneys New York has a tentative deal to sell its remaining assets to Authentic Brands Group and investment firm B. Riley Financial for $271 million. According to court documents reviewed by Business Insider's Bethany Biron, the deal calls for the closures of the seven remaining Barneys — including its flagship Manhattan location. 

The deal isn't final yet, but it reveals how the mighty of luxury retail have fallen.

Read more on what we know about the deal here.

Shopping spree. 

If you're mourning the potential closure of Barneys' flagship store and need to live out your Carrie Bradshaw fantasy before its potential closure, scroll through Shoshy Ciment's store tour.

Shoshy visited the flagship store in July, right after Barneys filed for bankruptcy. The empty space and mobs of sales associates were a significant departure from jam-packed dollar stores. While this experience may have seemed delightfully decadent at one time, Shoshy classified it as "wasteful"— especially as there were few customers to enjoy the placid shopping scene. 

Check out Shoshy's photos of Barneys' luxury clothing and goth Crocs.

Taste test of the week. 

We tried KFC's new wings, and they were not great. I mean, look at my face! 

Irene Jiang's take:"We like wings, but we're not sure about KFC's wings. The chain's new creations are generally hit or miss, and this one was a definite miss."

See how gross the wings were — complete with ranch-dipping GIFs! — here.

Everything else you need to know: 

• Chick-fil-A is facing more backlash over donations past and present. The facts are a bit more complicated than viral tweets make it seem. Here's my attempt to break things down.
• Despite backlash, Chick-fil-A is our readers' favorite fast-chain by a mile.
• Read Áine Cain and Rich Feloni's full conversation with Dick's CEO Ed Stack.
• I admit I have Instagram-stalked Glossier and Rent the Runway's summer camps. Bethany did the same, but in a professional way and put it in an article so you can Insta-stalk as well.
• Under Armour made spacesuits for Virgin Galactic and they look like knock-off "Star Trek" garb.
• Millennials seem to hate everything, but they LOVE massive rolls of toilet paper.
• Panera's mac-and-cheese prep went viral on TikTok and I got annoyed because basically every other chain is doing the same thing without getting in trouble.

Sign up here to get The Drive-Thru newsletter in your inbox every Friday.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A pair of Air Jordans can resell for up to $2,000. Here's why these iconic Nike sneakers are so expensive.

• KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza hut's owner, Yum! Brands, sank in opening trading in New York after reporting its third-quarter earnings. 
• The fast-food company reported massive declines in profits and earnings per share, as the brand slipped 9% on Wednesday. 
• The company said its investment in Grubhub was in part to blame, taking a $60 million hit from the food delivery service.
• View Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Yum! Brands, the owner of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, cratered in opening trading in New York, after the brand posted massive losses in its third-quarter earnings. 

The fast-food company sank 9% as of 12:07 p.m. in New York, which prior to the opening bell had a market cap of over $33 billion, signalling a $3 billion loss in a single morning in terms of value.

Yum! took a major hit on both profits and earnings per share, falling 13% and 42% respectively. 

Yum!, said in its statement that it took a $60 million pretax expense from its investment in the food delivery company Grubhub, which on Tuesday sank 42% after the company issued a profit warning.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the fast-food brand invested $200 million in Grubhub for a 3% stake in February 2018. The hit from Grubhub cost Yum! ¢15 cents on earnings per share. 

Analysts are more skeptical about Grubhub, as five analysts downgraded the food-delivery service according to Bloomberg data, Markets Insider reported. 

"Following a very strong first half of 2019 and in line with our expectations, third-quarter results were consistent with our long-term growth model," said Greg Creed, CEO, in the statement. Creed added that KFC and Taco Bell led the performance and that 2019 will complete a three-year transformation of the company.

Creed also said in the statement that he will retire.

"David Gibbs is the right leader to leverage our scale and key growth drivers to enhance franchisee economics, champion the customer experience and drive global growth to maximize value for our stakeholders," the executive said. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A big-money investor in juggernauts like Facebook and Netflix breaks down the '3rd wave' firms that are leading the next round of tech disruption

• Popeye's came out with a new chicken sandwich in August 2019. It ignited a Twitter war and sold out, but returned for good on November 3rd.
• Herrine Ro and Emily Christian tried Popeyes chicken sandwich and compared it to those from Chick-fil-A, KFC, Wendy's, McDonald's, and Burger King.
• They declare Popeyes has the best chicken sandwich. 

Join the conversation about this story »

• Chicken nuggets are a fast-food favorite.
• I tried the chicken nuggets at McDonald's, Burger King,Wendy's, Chick-Fil-A, Shake Shack, and KFC to see which chain does them best.
• The chicken nuggets at Wendy's won out with their crispy coating, juicy chicken, and balanced flavor. At around 40 cents a nugget, they were also the best value.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Chicken nuggets are beloved by all — except maybe vegetarians.

It's easy to see why. They're inoffensive, easy to eat, and low in calories compared to other fast-food options. They're also the ideal vehicle for your dipping sauce of choice.

But like most fast foods, not all chicken nuggets are created equal. A chicken nugget should be crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and has a balanced flavor.

I went to six fast-food chains in pursuit of this perfect chicken nugget. The competitors were: Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, KFC, Wendy's, McDonald's, and Burger King. All prices were what I paid in the New York City location I visited.

SEE ALSO: I ate the same meal at Texas Roadhouse, Outback Steakhouse, and LongHorn Steakhouse. Here's how they compared.

SHAKE SHACK — 6 PC CHICK'N BITES, $4.99 — I don't come to Shake Shack because it's a good value, but opening up this box of meager morsels was disappointing. After tax, they were practically a dollar each.

The batter and breadcrumbs were very crispy, and the chicken was tender and juicy.

But they were way too salty. I had to dip them in sweet honey mustard in order to balance them out.

I also noticed that they had a slight kick to them. Overall, though, I was disappointed at the quality and quantity for the price.

Read more: I tried the signature burgers from 5 major fast-food chains, and the winner was obvious

CHICK-FIL-A — 8 PC CHICK-FIL-A NUGGETS, $5.09 — I have yet to be especially impressed by any one item at Chick-fil-A. Yes, its tables have fresh flowers, but its food is just OK.

These were slightly bigger and more generous than Shake Shack's nuggets, but they were coated in just breadcrumbs, no batter.

They weren't quite as crispy as Shake Shack's nuggets. The breading felt secondary, almost like the nuggets had been grilled then coated in carbs. They weren't that juicy, either.

Read more: These are America's favorite fast-food chains, from Chick-fil-A to In-N-Out

But despite the lackluster texture, these had a solid, robust flavor that capitalized on all the savory charms of chicken.

KFC — POPCORN NUGGETS, $5.89 — These are more like popcorn chicken than the other brands' nuggets. They're also only sold in one size: large.

Even though the quantity was large, the nuggets themselves were tiny, tiny, tiny.

They were coated in a salty and near-impenetrable layer of batter crust.

The chicken inside was tough, dry, and completely tasteless. I reached for more honey mustard.

WENDY'S — 10 PC CHICKEN NUGGETS, $4.09 —When I think of Wendy's I think of beef, not chicken.

They were coated in a combination of batter and breadcrumbs that made for a delightfully crispy outer shell.

The chicken was juicy and soft. It was still processed but tasted like real white meat.

These had the exact texture that chicken nuggets should have, and they were balanced and mild without being flavorless.

Read more: I ate soft serve from 7 major fast-food chains, and the winner surprised me

MCDONALD'S — 10 PC MCNUGGETS, $5.99 — These are the nuggets I think of when I think of chicken nuggets.

They come in four shapes: bone, bell, ball, and boot. They're more processed than they let on...

Read more: Why McDonald's Chicken McNuggets come in only 4 shapes

Although they're nice and crispy on the outside, the chicken is dry, bland, and tastes pretty processed.

They're a consistent vehicle for sauce, but don't have any flavor of their own to offer.

BURGER KING — 10 PC CHICKEN NUGGETS, $4.59 — Burger King's Chicken Fries are arguably more famous than their nuggets, but both have the same adorable cartoon chicken on their packaging.

At first glance, these looked like a slightly dryer, more beige version of the McNugget.

That's exactly what they were. These were also unbelievably stale and dry. After finishing my first nugget, I had no desire to pick up another one.

The award for best nuggets goes the spectacular specimens at Wendy's. They had an enticing texture and full flavor while still being perfectly dippable. Crispy, juicy, and balanced, these were better than their competition in every way. They were also the best value for money, making them an easy choice for nugget fans.

• When we heard that KFC was set to launch a brand new version of their iconic Chicken and Waffles, we knew we had to get our hands on the spicy new addition.
• Not only were we impressed by the juicy, perfectly crispy chicken, but we were pleasantly surprised by the manageable spiciness of the Nashville hot oil.
• The meal truly came together, however, with the addition of a sweet, fluffy Belgian-style waffle drenched in maple syrup. 
• It was fast food at its finest, and we savored every last bite.
• Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Why have plain chicken and waffles, when you could have chicken and waffles with an extra kick?

Fans of KFC's chicken and waffles will be pleased to know that on November 18 spicy versions of the meal will be arriving in locations nationwide for a limited time.

While KFC has been selling its Nashville Hot Chicken since January 2016, this marks the first time that patrons will be able to taste it alongside Belgian-style waffles.

Meals come in multiple options: a waffle sandwich, a three-piece tender meal, or a basket including one breast, two-piece thigh, and a drumstick. The Nashville Hot Chicken can also come as part of KFC's Big Basket meal deal.

When we first heard about the launch of KFC's new Nashville Hot Chicken and Waffles meals, we knew we had to get our hands on the waffle combos ourselves.

Here are our thoughts on KFC's lineup of sweet, savory, and spicy new items.

SEE ALSO: I tried keto meals from 5 fast-food chains and found there was a huge variety in what you can get

Looking at the spread of crispy chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and fillets, our mouths began to water. Everything looked and smelled fresh out of the fryer.

The tenders with Nashville hot oil were truly elevated.

The breast, thigh, and drum basket also impressed — what could be better than a crispy drumstick doused in spicy oil and maple syrup?

However, the real star of the show, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the Nashville Hot Chicken and Waffles sandwich.

Layered in between two fluffy waffles, this sandwich brought the chain's signature fried chicken to a whole new level. And, with the addition of Nashville hot oil, we truly couldn't put this down.

The crispy folds of breading wrapped around the fillet promisingly and the waffle-to-chicken ratio appeared near-perfect. Admittedly, it looked just like the advertisement.

Biting into the sandwich, we were floored. The chicken was crunchy and crispy on the outside, but perfectly moist on the inside. It wasn't too much chicken, and it wasn't too little. The hot oil wasn't overpowering, and we could still taste every flavor while enjoying the kick.

The waffles were also very balanced. They were sweet but not sugary and toed the line between crispy and soft. This was the Goldilocks of chicken and waffles sandwiches — everything was just right.

We hadn't yet added the maple syrup on top of the sandwich, so now seemed as good a time as any to do so. The Mrs. Butterworth's syrup that came with the meal was nothing special but, combined with the sandwich, it blew us away.

Waffles and syrup can both verge on being too sweet in theory, but the spiciness of the hot oil cut through it all to create a balanced tasting experience.

Once the sandwich was drenched in gooey syrup, we decided to switch to a knife and fork. This allowed us more control over the chicken, waffle, and syrup ratio. Every bite was just as delicious as the last, alternating between notes of sweet, savory, and spicy.

While we definitely couldn't eat this every day, this decadent, rich, and delicious meal is simply a must-try.

If you can handle the spice level, definitely go for the hot oil versions of each. Sweet and savory may be a classic combination, but sweet, savory, and spicy truly blows the competition out of the water.

• In June and July, Business Insider surveyed more than 3,000 readers to determine which fast-food chain's fried chicken fans love the most.
• Rankings were determined by the percentage of visitors to a chain who said that that chain had the best fried chicken.
• More people than had visited Popeyes in the last six months said the chain had the best fried chicken. KFC came in at a distant second, with a little over half of visitors saying the chain had the best fried chicken.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Before there was the chicken sandwich, there was fried chicken.

Good fried chicken is crispy, juicy, and well-seasoned. Some might say finger-lickin' good, but they might get in trouble with a certain retired colonel. And does that colonel have the best fried chicken? And if not, who does?

In a survey conducted in June and July — before the debut of Popeyes' chicken sandwich in August— we asked our readers to tell us which chains have the best fried chicken in fast food. Over 3,000 readers responded, and five chains were clear favorites, although one was a clearer favorite than the others.

To determine our rankings, we compared the percentage of respondents who said they'd visited a chain in the previous six months against the percentage of respondents who said they thought that chain was the best at something.

According to our readers, these are the five fast-food chains with the best fried chicken:

SEE ALSO: Five Guys has the best french fries in fast food, according to our survey of more than 3,000 customers

5. Wingstop

23% of people who visited a Wingstop in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

4. Zaxby's

36% of people who visited a Zaxby's in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

3. Chick-fil-A

50% of people who visited a Chick-fil-A in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

2. KFC

60% of people who visited a KFC in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken.

1. Popeyes

107% of people who visited a Popeyes in the last six months said that the chain had the best fried chicken. The extra 7% comes from respondents who did not visit a Popeyes in the last six months but still said the chain had the best fried chicken.