People always search for restaurants that prepare delicious foods while maintaining perfect hygiene and quality in the kitchen.
These might sound like simple demands, but most restaurants fail to meet them. Wingstop is certainly not one of those restaurants!
It is a renowned American multinational restaurant chain that cooks the most delicious chicken wings. Wingstop’s aviation-themed restaurants have served gourmet customers since 1994.
Its pre-jet aviation-themed restaurants attract consumers, who demand a special place to have their meals.
Antonio Swad and Bernadette Fiaschetti founded this restaurant in 1994. They did not aim to spread it across the globe, but their propitiatory recipes helped them gain more customers.
The expansion began in 1997 and now this company has over 1,500 restaurants in the USA and several other countries.
Gemini Investors had bought the Wingstop restaurant chain in 2003 and that firm was later sold to Roark Capital Group in 2010.
Since the restaurant chain was performing well, it went public in 2015 to attract more investors.
Continue reading to learn more about the Wingstop restaurant chain and its top competitors!
What Does Wingstop Restaurants Serve?
Wingstop has served recipes with unique flavors for more than two decades. It became a fast-growing restaurant chain and quickly attracted customers to newly established restaurants.
Every Wingstop restaurant serves freshly prepared wings. Flawlessly hand-cut fries and mouth-watering spices are specialty of this restaurant chain.
Wingstop mainly serves chicken wings, chicken tenders, boneless wings, a variety of dips, and other cuisines.
Customers can place order for Hawaiian, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan, Mild, Original Hot, Atomic, Hickory Smocked BB!, Cajun, Mango Habanero, and various other flavors.
Chefs at this restaurant always experiment with spices and flavors to develop something unique for clients. It is the best restaurant to taste juicy chicken wings with some amazing dips.
Wingstop Revenue and Growth
This company has reported that its total revenue increased by 13.8% in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year 2021. It made $72 million, which is quite better than the $63.3 million this company had made in 2020’s 4th quarter.
Wingstop has also claimed that its overall revenue grew 13.5% in 2021. It gained profit from franchise fees, royalty revenue, and other sources.
The latest reports show that the restaurant chain’s revenue grew to $76.2 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. It claims to attract more customers and gain more profit by serving better.
Wingstop Competitors
Wingstop competes with the world’s leading restaurant chains. Since it specializes in fried chicken cuisines, its main competition is from restaurants that sell the same product.
Wingstop’s chicken wings, fries, and other cuisines attract millions of customers. There are restaurant chains that sometimes outperform this company and grab its loyal clients.
This company has competed with the following 10 competitors in and out of the US markets.
Continue reading to reveal how Wingstop and its rivals maintain their respective positions in the market.
1. Popeyes
Operating 3451 restaurants in the USA and 30 other countries, Popeyes Lousiana Kitchen, Inc. is the leading fried chicken fast food restaurant chain.
Al Copeland established this restaurant to compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1972. His new venture didn’t work, but he didn’t sit back.
Copeland rebranded his restaurant and reopened it as Popeyes Mighty Good Chicken. It did not fail this time and the rest is history.
Popeyes was Louisiana’s most popular fried chicken restaurant. Copeland wanted to serve more locations and therefore he started franchising his restaurant in 1976.
This brand quickly became popular among fried chicken lovers. Today, this restaurant chain is present in 46 states of the USA.
This restaurant chain mainly serves chicken cuisines. You can find both mild and spicy flavors in chicken dishes along with other side dishes.
Consumers also praise the flavor and quality of Popeyes’ seafood cuisines. Its catfish and shrimp recipes are extremely delicious.
Since people inclined more to health-promoting foods, Popeyes introduced a number of fat-free cuisines. Most customers visit this restaurant for delicious chicken sandwiches, chicken wings, and other chicken recipes.
Popeyes generated $5.52 billion in 2021 and its revenue grew in comparison to the previous fiscal year.
This restaurant chain makes a lot more in comparison to Wingstop and other top fried chicken restaurant chains. However, Wingstop has reduced Popeyes’ influence in many cities across the USA!
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2. Chick-fil-A
Renowned as the largest restaurant chain specializing in chicken sandwiches, Chick-fil-A competes with the best in the world.
It has established itself as one of the market leaders in the restaurant industry. It has established more than 2,797 restaurants in 47 US states and Canada.
This restaurant serves many delicious cuisines for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Its menus switch with time so that customers can order something new.
S. Truett Cathy was a devoted Christian, who founded Chick-fil-A in 1946. His religious values still influence the company’s decisions.
All the restaurants remain closed on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This restaurant also promotes fish sandwiches so that customers can avoid meat to eat healthier and stay healthy.
This restaurant made $4.3 billion in 2020 and its annual revenue increased to $5.8 Billion in 2021. Such amazing growth proves that people love Chick-fil-A more than any other restaurant in its category.
3. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
This brand is serving fried chicken fans across 150 countries. Colonel Harland Sanders and Pete Harman established this restaurant chain in 1930 in Kentucky.
Today, there are 22,621 KFC restaurants across the globe. It has become the world’s second-largest restaurant chain in terms of sales!
Yum! Brands, which owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and WingStreet chains, acquired KFC in the 70s and played an important role in its expansion across the globe.
KFC is the first western restaurant brand to establish restaurants in China. It reached many other countries and sold millions of delicious chicken cuisines every day.
Sanders used 11 herbs and spices in the recipe to cook something more special than competitor brands.
Today, KFC serves many popular chicken dishes along with regional cuisines and beverages. This franchise made $31.365 Billion in 2021 and $28.289 Billion in 2020!
Its revenue is increasing rapidly because it is reaching many new regions where no competitor provides delicious chicken wings!
4.Church’s Chicken
This American fast-food giant has mastered the art of preparing appetizing fried chicken cuisines. George W. Church Sr. established the first restaurant of this restaurant chain in 1952.
It was offering fried chicken and rolls at affordable costs. Gourmet clients loved recipes and praised this restaurant for the affordable costs of cuisines.
Church’s Chicken continued to add new cuisines to the menu and became a popular walk-up restaurant in San Antonio.
Its expansion began in 1965 when Church Jr. and his brother created a unique marinade for their recipes.
There were five restaurants across Texas in 1967 and the expansion never stopped. Today, this restaurant chain has established 1,700 restaurants across 26 countries.
It aims to open more franchises and company-owned restaurants in the future. This restaurant chain has experienced steady growth for the past five years.
Its peak revenue was $251.9 million in 2021 and it outperformed many restaurant franchises during this span.
5. Buffalo Wild Wings
This casual dining restaurant chain runs sports bars and restaurants across the world. This company owns 625 restaurants and it has franchised 612 restaurants.
All the restaurants serve sauces developed by Buffalo Wild Wings to attract and maintain customers. This restaurant chain is world-famous for its Buffalo-style chicken wings.
It provides the most delicious sauces to make chicken wings and other cuisines taste awesome. You can find many delicious appetizers on the menu, such as tacos, burgers, salads, and desserts.
Buffalo Wild Wings also serve beverages, such as wine, beer, and other cocktails. Most newcomers are tempted to try the Blazin Wing Challenge.
It requires the participant to consume 12 of the Buffalo Wild Wing’s hottest wings in just six minutes. If succeeded, the winner gets a free T-shirt.
This restaurant chain offers many ways to enjoy the food and it makes a huge profit by offering world-class service.
This company has made $2 Billion in 2021 and it has been a tough competitor for Wlngstop for many years.
6. Zaxby’s
Zaxby’s runs a chain of fast-casual restaurants that offer chicken fingers, chicken wings, salads, and sandwiches.
This chain competes with Wingstop and other franchises in the Southern states of the USA. It is serving across 900 locations, but only 123 restaurants are owned by the company.
All the appetizers and cuisines are prepared when customers place their orders. This restaurant serves many dipping sauces to enhance the taste of the main dish.
Buyers can order both mild and hot sauces to enjoy their meals. This chain’s all restaurants are decorated according to regional themes.
They try their best to provide a unique dining experience and the top management emphasizes proper maintenance of the franchise’s image.
Zaxby’s annual income increased only 2.73% between 2019 and 2020. However, its revenue significantly improved in 2021 and the company aims to gain more profit in 2022.
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7. Bojangles
Renowned for preparing the best Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits, Bojangles is a fast food restaurant chain operating in the USA. Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas had established this restaurant chain in 1977.
It did not become as big as Wingstop and other chains are. However, this restaurant chain still operates more than 750 restaurants!
Bojangles serves biscuit sandwiches, Cajun chicken filet biscuit, cheese, egg, ham, sausage, and several other cuisines. Customers get a different set of dishes cooked for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
All the restaurants in this chain are known for serving the signature taste of the franchise. They all contribute to improving the annual revenue of the chain and make it one of the largest fast-food restaurant chains in the world.
8. El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco means “The Crazy Chicken” in the Spanish language. This restaurant chain operates independently in the USA and Mexico. It serves Mexican-style grilled chicken and other cuisines.
Juan Francisco Ochoa founded both restaurant chains. It was first operating in Mexico and then expanded in the USA during the 80s.
There are 50 restaurants in Mexico and its American counterpart operates 500 company-owned and franchised restaurants.
El Pollo Loco serves different chicken dishes, but it attracts many customers who primarily ate Wingstop dishes.
The USA franchise made $426 million in 2020 and the revenue of company-operated restaurants increased by $100 million in 2021.
9. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
It is one of the fastest-growing fast-food restaurant chains in the USA. Founded in 1996, this chain is best known for its delicious chicken fingers.
It has established 600 company-owned and franchised restaurants across the USA, Kuwait, and other countries.
Raising Cane’s revenue grew by a record 22.8% in 2018 and that’s why it gained the attention of investors. It had some setbacks during the pandemic, but it is back in the business and making a significant profit.
Battered, boneless, and deep-fried chicken fingers are the specialty of this restaurant. It serves all sorts of sauces and other appetizers to please customers.
10. Chester’s International
Operating over 1,200 quick-service restaurants, Chester’s is one of the leading fried chicken quick-service restaurant chains. W.O. Giles established the first Chester’s restaurant in 1965.
Its headquarters moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 2012 from where it expanded to many new territories.
The management team has recently completed a full brand refresh in 2021 to revamp the brand image. It got a new logo and it delivers food in newly chosen packaging.
Chester’s has a new range of fried chicken recipes. Customers are praising changes this brand has carried out to compete with well-established brands, such as WIngstop, KFC, Popeyes, etc.
This company has made $47.54 million in sales and it aims to increase those figures rapidly. Its revenue is not as huge as Wingstop has maintained over the years, but this restaurant chain has many loyal customers.
It can quickly increase those figures and become one of the best-fried chicken serving restaurants in the USA.
