Chick-Fil-A Is The Record-Breaking Buyer Of 2 Specific Ingredients
Chick-fil-A sells more waffle fries than any other item on its menu, but there are a lot of additional noteworthy contenders that make the chicken joint popular among Americans. Since 2017, Chick-fil-A's revenue has only increased, and in 2021, the fast food chain generated $5.8 billion in sales (via Statistica). That same year, Chick-fil-A was called out by Restaurant Business for selling more chicken than other fast food competitors. Coming out ahead of major chains like Popeye's, Wendy's, and McDonald's, Chick-fil-A's online revenue for chicken sandwiches in 2021 peaked at an astounding 45%.
In the most updated list of Chick-fil-A's highest-selling menu items, it should come as no surprise to see the famous chicken nuggets and classic chicken sandwich taking the number three and four spots across all regions. While soft drinks take the number two spot, lemonade makes the exclusive list as well. Making fresh lemonade and deep frying all those tiny chicken nuggets and sandwich portions require extra ingredients, but what about all the potatoes needed to make the highest-selling waffle fries? Which two items does Chick-fil-A purchase the most to ensure peak sales and set the chain apart from other fast-food restaurants?
These two ingredients keep Chick-fil-A a popular fast food option
While you could make your own copycat version of Chick-fil-A's fried chicken sandwich, there's nothing like one bought fresh from the popular chain and it may have something to do with the oil used to fry these masterpieces. Entrepreneur claims Chick-fil-A buys more peanut oil than any other company in the world. According to the Chick-fil-A website, the brand has been frying its uniquely seasoned chicken in peanut oil since the chain's founder, Truett Cathy, began experimenting with the recipe in 1961. According to Shona Johnson, Chick-fil-A's culinary senior manager, peanut oil sets the chain's fried chicken apart from every other fast food retailer.
Customers need something fresh to drink as they're chomping down on all of those breaded nuggets which leads to Chick-fil-A's second most purchased item — lemons. In 2015, The Chicken Wire claims Chick-fil-A bought more lemons from Sunkist than Japan — an astounding 250 million lemons. Chick-fil-A sets itself apart from other fast food retailers since lemons are juiced daily as shown in the brand's promotional video for fresh lemonade (via YouTube). While no one can deny the enjoyment of a freshly squeezed beverage, some customers have had issues with how Chick-fil-A defines the word "fresh."
Social media exposes some hard truths behind the brand's lemonade
Dating back to 2020, customers started boycotting Chick-fil-A's lemonade after employees began showcasing the ingredients and mixing process through viral TikTok videos. While the first video, which has since been deleted caused outrage over the amount of sugar used, the second video, which was uploaded earlier this year, showcases an employee mixing the chain's lemonade with a bag of lemon juice, sugar, and tap water (per TikTok). The comments section is full of customers confused by the "freshness" claim, and employees confirmed they once had to juice lemons each morning by hand.
Regarding the claims that the chicken joint's lemonade has too much sugar, the nutritional content is readily available on the Chick-fil-A website. While the description states that the lemonade only contains lemon juice, water, and sugar, one medium lemonade, which is roughly 15 ounces, contains 58 grams of carbohydrates.
According to the USDA, one cup of lemon juice contains 6.9 grams of carbohydrates and 2.5 grams of sugar. When compared to a classic lemonade recipe, those 58 grams of carbs in Chick-fil-A's medium lemonade are most likely coming from sugar. Yet, Chick-fil-A's lemonade recipe mirrors many others with its high sugar content. According to Karen Collins, MS, RDN of the American Institute for Cancer Research, lemonade is not a healthy fruit juice, but more a "sugar-sweetened drink."