America’s appetite for Chicken Wings is still on the rise.
When once they were relegated to the famous Buffalo flavor in local bars, you now see Chicken Wings Franchises popping up everywhere, serving every flavor imaginable.
There was nothing terribly original about deep-fried chicken wings when Teressa Bellissimo, the co-owner of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York cooked up a batch for her son and his friends to snack on one night.
But, adding one ingredient to the mix, changed wing history.
A buttery, hot pepper sauce.
The kids loved it.
The following day, it’s said, she put them on the bar’s menu with some celery sticks and blue cheese sauce and called them Buffalo Wings.
In no time, the word about these wings got out locally, then regionally, then nationally.
Today, aside from the behemoth pizza franchises selling chicken wings, there are dozens of large national and regional chicken wing-focused franchises with thousands of units spread out from coast to coast in the U.S.
Led by Buffalo Wild Wings and Wing Stop, which has well over 1,700 units themselves, chicken wing franchises are one of the fastest growing fast casual chains around the world.
Added to the wing-centric restaurants, there are also the national fried chicken franchises such as KFC, Church’s, Popeyes, and every fast casual and independent restaurant, bar & grill in the country.
Wings Over America.
All totaled, it’s estimated that 27 billion wing pieces were produced by the poultry industry last year to satisfy our wing cravings.
Of that, it also estimated that over 1.5 billion wings were consumed on this past Super Bowl Sunday alone.
And as you might well imagine, publicly held shares of some of these chicken wing franchises have soared over the past decade, with some franchises reporting year over year quarterly sales increases as large as 32%!
What’s the attraction? How, and why has this once, least desirable part of the bird, been such a “Winged Victory”, for the food service industry?
Affordable and flexible.
Two of the reasons why chicken wings have become so popular, is that diners have discovered that when it comes to eating out, chicken wings are not only reasonably priced but, unlike beef, pork, lamb, fish or shellfish, they come in so many different flavors and styles to choose from.
They’re also a simple and casual meal that can be enjoyed with friends, much like pizza.
A sense of taste or a sense of pride?
While the old standard “Buffalo” flavor still has its fans, the heat,… is getting hotter.
Scoville is Show-ville.
Scoville, the famous index of spicy heat, has for some, become a more of a sense of pride, than a sense of taste.
You like hot? I like it hotter!, has become a boast of just how much you can take.
Of course, Asmus Seasonings has it all, including our popular Sweet and Smoky Habanero and blends including some of the hottest chiles on the planet, including the Scotch Bonnet and Ghost Chiles.
Lemon Pepper, Garlic Herb and BBQ are other commonly chosen seasoning blends by our customers.
If you’re looking for something a bit more unusual, blends feature Sweet & Spicy Orange, Pineapple Teriyaki, Curry, Plum and Apple BBQ and Hickory are also popular choices.
And we’re always happy to fulfill the requests for Clean Label blends, which are minus MSG, fillers or other artificial additives.
To date, approximately 10% of Asmus Seasonings business is related to chicken wings. 30% if you include seasoned flours.
To read more about Asmus’s Flour Power, CLICK HERE.
When it comes to wings, there are many different ways seasonings can be added. They include:
- Dry seasoning blends and rubs added to flours used to coat the wings before cooking.
- Seasonings added to marinades used before cooking.
- Post cooked seasoning “dusts”.
- Seasonings added to butters, oils and liquids to create post glazes and sauces for tossing.
Besides the blends we always have in stock, Asmus’s seasoning archives contains over 600 seasoning amazing formulas. All of which are at your disposal.
We can also create a proprietary blends suited specifically to your business needs.
