From popularizing the term and the item “chicken sandwich” to build a fast food empire, Chick-fil-A is filled with stories of its incredible more than 50 years of journey.
But, behind all these, the company has been running with its strength and weakness. Besides, it has lots of opportunities ahead, as well as threats. We’ll get to know more about all those by doing a Chick-fil-A swot analysis.
We’ll learn more about the journey in the following section. Stay with us to know more!
Chick-Fil-A: Company Overview
| Company | Chick-fil-A |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | 23 May 1946 |
| Founder | S. Truett Cathy |
| CEO | Andrew T. Cathy |
| Headquarter | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| No. of Employees | 35,574+ |
| Annual Revenue | $11.3 billion (FY 2021) |
| Website | www.chick-fil-a.com |
Starting in 1967, Chick-fil-A is now aged over 50 years. Starting only with one restaurant, it has come a long way with more than 3500 stores all around the globe.
With record-breaking sales of $4.4M, it is now one of the most profitable businesses in the industry. And it has more than 45% of the market share, thus making it the largest fast-food chain in the country.
Competing with other giants in the industry, the company always has to keep up with its game and market offering, which we will learn in detail.
Product & Services of Chick-fil-A
Chicken Sandwich ǀ Waffle Potato Fries | Salad | Nuggets | Beverages
Chick-fil-A Competitors
McDonald’s | KFC | Wendy’s | Taco Bell | Fogo de Chao
Did You Know?
Chick-fil-A is one of the largest consumers of peanut oil and Sunkist lemons. To be exact, the amount of lemonade they serve in a year is more than 300M.
Strengths – Chick-fil-A SWOT Analysis
Niche-Based Menu: People have specific taste buds, and they love to experience foods in their favorite category. Chick-fil-A not only provides a particular segment with their menu, which is based only on chicken. Still, they also have an extensive product variety, including salad, fries, cold drinks, burgers, and not to mention their exclusive sauces.
Quality Product: They just don’t have a varied range of products; they are good at what they do. The food quality is at the top level. Even though their main focused products are chicken based, the other products’ quality is industry standard and satisfactory.
Satisfied Customers: A satisfied customer is one of the very reasons behind a successful brand. Chick-fil-A is not just a brand with great food and excellent ambiance but also offers the industry’s top customer service. They also had the title “The best customer service” back in 2020.
Positive Brand Image: When you’re in a competitive industry, such as the food industry, you must have a positive and better brand image than your rivals. In this case, they have been doing great in keeping up a positive impression with a great menu, customer service, and social work, such as charitable work, feeding homeless poor people and children.
Strong Business Performance: Everything aside, a business must have disciplined and robust financial performance and business strategy to survive in the long run. With a sound system, brand loyalty, and franchising model, they are among the most profitable, not to mention an expanding food chain empire in the USA.
Weaknesses – Chick-fil-A SWOT Analysis
Low Global Presence: As a fast food giant, Chick-fil-A doesn’t exactly have a global presence. Most service areas include only three countries; USA, UK, and Canada. Even though there are lots of demand and significant markets in Europe and Asian countries, the competitors dominate those markets.
Highly Competitive Market: There were already tons of competitors even before Chick-fil-A. And, as the food industry is growing rapidly, the demand is increasing too. The statistics from the past decade and the future prediction shows that the market will grow year-by-year, as will the industry competitors.
Comparatively Expensive: People want their go-to items as low as possible regarding fast food. But, as a fast food chain, Chick-fil-A prices are higher than the others. And the company gladly accepted that the price is higher, but they always strive for quality and serve the best.
Low Diversified Menu: When fast food chains first came into the market, they tried to specialize in one segment and serve the best they can do. With a limited and specific menu, they may be enough for a small business. But, as the company grew, the menu didn’t. As there are other offerings, those are offered by the competitors.
High Barrier in Franchising: One of the significant factors in growing a fast food chain is expanding the business with the franchises as fast as possible. But, to control the franchise, and overall quality and management, sometimes these companies put too many criteria on the franchises.
Opportunities – Chick-fil-A SWOT Analysis
Increase Global Presence: As the food market grows, the business has more opportunities to expand into other continental markets. Even with all the criteria for the franchises, they can grow the business into more continents, especially in the Asian and European markets.
Diversified Promoting Channel: The marketing channels are now more diversified than ever, as they are more inclining to the digital side. In this era of digital and social media channels, and with more and more youth consumers, Chick-fil-A can focus more on promoting channels.
Offerings Crossover: Most fast food chains offer combo packages for customers. That way, customers have more options for buying a family meal. And, when there are more discounts in the package, consumers are more inclined to buy those items.
Introduce Variety: Even though the idea of specializing in a small group of products can be fantastic, nowadays, customers want more. There are not many items besides chickens. Only a few of the outlets offer beef burgers or items. Introducing more variety of items could increase the foot traffic from different segments.
Healthy Menu: People are now more concerned about their health and healthy eating. Chick-fil-A can introduce more healthy food items for the customers. Even though they offer a few nutritious items, that’s not enough choice.
Threats – Chick-fil-A SWOT Analysis
Low Entry Barrier: The fast food industry has the lowest entry barrier. With enough capital backup, anyone can come up with new discounts, offers, and better items in the market. As the market is snowballing, low entry barriers make the process easier.
Political & Religious Affiliation: Chick-fil-A has a lot of political party affiliations and donating money in the campaigns over several years. Besides, most high executives and the company have high religious affiliations, even though they had to undergo an LGBTQ controversy.
Cost Rising: From the economic point of view, the world is on the edge of recession and crisis. In these times, people spend less and less on expensive items, and as a result, the price for other items increases too. When this happens, the business has to raise the costs of the items too.
Inefficient Supply Chain: Even a food chain giant like Chick-fil-A outsource most raw materials. In the food industry, people want fresh items, so the supply chain always has to go on. Even a tiny interruption has huge consequences. And a few years back, they faced an SCM issue, and they had to pay for that.
Health Consciousness: People are now more conscious about their health for various reasons, whether it’s covid, overall health status, or bad food habits. Even though this is good for society, it will hurt the business solely focusing on chicken items.
[Bonus Infographic] SWOT Analysis of Chick-fil-A
Recommendations for Chick-fil-A
As we finished our swot analysis on Chick-fil-A, here are a few recommendations for the company to expand and service in the long run.
- They need to focus more on global expansion. Even though the fast food industry is softening in first-world countries, the scenario is the opposite in third-world countries.
- Pivoting and introducing new items and adapting to new food items and trends is a great way to get customer attention and more foot traffic to the stores.
- Cutting some slack here and there to the franchises to get more presence might be a great move from the company.
- Working on more social work and creating a present will increase consumers’ overall brand value and popularity.
- Having a tight and disciplined supply chain management will pay off a long way, and the work process will be smoother and stronger.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who Are Chick-fil-A Rivals?
Chick-fil-A rivals are McDonald's, Wendy's, Subway, KFC, Taco Bell, Fogo de Chao, etc.
Does Chick-fil-A Use Milk In Their Chicken?
Yes, Chick-fil-A uses milk in their chicken. Eve, most items include the least amount of dairy products.
Final Words on Chick-fil-A SWOT Analysis
Chick-fil-A grew rapidly with quality service and excellent customer satisfaction in such a short time. As a result, they are one of the largest and growing fast food chains in the USA. But, they can grow more and beyond with strategy changes and focus on doing what they do best, making delicious chicken items. I’ll discuss another company at another time. Until then, happy reading!
References
- Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Chick-fil-A. Wikipedia.
- Chick-fil-A Menu, Nutrition and Descriptions. (n.d.). Chick-fil-A.
- America’s Best Customer Service 2020. (n.d.). In Statista.
- Our Giving Philosophy – How Chick-fil-A is Giving Back to Local Communities. (n.d.). Chick-fil-A.
- Chick-fil-A Revenue: Annual, Historic, And Financials – Zippia. (n.d.). Zippia.
- Taylor, K. (2019, October 11). Chick-fil-A is ramping up its international expansion, opening its first location in the UK. Business Insider.
- Ranking The Top 50 Fast-Food Chains in America. (n.d.). QSR Magazine.
- Franchise Information and Opportunities. (n.d.). Chick-fil-A.
- Meisenzahl, M. (2021, September 17). Chick-fil-A’s CEO reveals plans for more international expansion, including into Asia. Business Insider.
- RANDALL, L. (2019, November 8). 6 nutritious menu picks at Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A.
- Bizouati-Kennedy, Y. (2022, October 17). Who Does Chick-fil-A Give Political Donations To?. Yahoo.
- Greenfield, B. (2021, July 16). Why are people mad at Chick-fil-A? A rundown of the chain’s past and present anti-LGBTQ controversies. Yahoo.
- Petre, H. (2021, May 12). Chick-fil-A is the latest to face supply chain issues as it limits its famous sauces. Nation’s Restaurant News.
