About one third (34%) of Chicken Wings on the menu are “Buffalo” type.  Another 28% do not specify on their menu that their wings are “Buffalo” and simply describe the menu item as Chicken Wings.  However, these wings are most probably doused in Buffalo Sauce as are the 11% of menu items advertising “Spicy” or “Hot” or “Hot & Spicy” Chicken Wings.

New flavors of wings have found a place on American menus.  Approximately 27% of chicken wing menu items get their flavor enhancement from either BBQ, Honey BBQ, Teriyaki, Jerk, Garlic, Hickory Smoked, Sweet and Spicy, Cajun, Lemon Pepper, Chili or other seasoning.

Romancing wings on the menu as “HOT” builds on images of Atomic, Devil, Diablo, Fire, Desserts, Death, Buzzards, Habanero, Hot Sauces or other connections shown below.

Hot Wings Menuing Has Doubled

Currently, 25% or approximately 168,000 foodservice operations, list Hot Wings on the menu.  MenuMine from Foodservice Research Institute has been keeping track of menu changes since 1996, at which time only 11% of restaurants offered Hot Wings.

More Than One Half Billion Pounds of Hot Wings

Tonnage of Hot Wings entering the foodservice channel including all chains, independents and on-site establishments is calculated (using MenuMine’s Market Size Projector) at 704 million pounds.  To this total may be added a projected 24 million gallons of dipping sauces, 9 million gallons of glazes and marinades and several acres of celery sticks.

Glazes and Marinades

All hot wings are basted / glazed / marinated in hot sauce or other piquant / peppery concoctions prior to the cooking process.  Judging from declarations made on menus, about 95% of wings are deep fried, while the remainder are either roasted, baked or grilled.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce Leads

Four of ten restaurants menuing hot wings indicate on the menu that they offer a dipping sauce.  Among these, 54% serve blue cheese dressing, while 32% serve ranch and 35% other condiments including marinara sauce, bbq sauce, hot sauce, buffalo sauce, cheese sauce, garlic butter, jerk sauce, sweet and sour sauce, honey mustard, and others.

Hot Wing Menu Prices

Cutting out very large wing servings (over 25) and very low (5 or less), the average (median) menu price per wing is $.66.

Market Segments Most Likely To Serve Hot Wings

Among more than 50 market segments monitored by MenuMine, QSR Pizza Chains, represented by 20,000+ U.S. establishments, have the best probability (78%) of serving wings.  Second in line for serving incidence is Fast Casual Chicken Chains, which as a segment has a 71% chance of serving wings.  Fast Casual Chicken Chains, however,  number slightly less than 2,000 units and thus projected wing volume is considerably smaller.