Unlike many of its fast-food rivals, it’s somewhat uncommon for Chipotle to introduce new or limited-time items to its menu—which features a relatively small selection of proteins and toppings that customers use to customize bowls, burritos, and more. But in a rare yet exciting development, the chain just introduced a sweet and spicy new chicken option that it says is “unlike any of its proteins yet.”
The new Chipotle Honey Chicken is currently being tested for a limited time at 80 Chipotle restaurants in Nashville, Tenn., and Sacramento, Calif. While customers in other parts of the country won’t have access to the new protein for the time being, fast-food chains often test new menu innovations in select markets to gauge how customers respond to them. So if the Chipotle Honey Chicken garners a good response from fans during the test launch, customers could potentially see it roll out on a wider basis further down the road.
Described as a “bold new take on hot honey,” the chicken is marinated with seared, smoked adobo peppers, seasoned with savory Mexican spices, and finished with a touch of honey. Chipotle said that it conducted consumer taste tests for the sweet and savory protein before launching the limited test run, and the Chipotle Honey Chicken “surpassed consumer expectations and achieved the highest marks of any chicken innovation that Chipotle has sensory tested.”
This isn’t all that surprising given that sweet and spicy (AKA “swicy”) flavors have been soaring in popularity among consumers lately.
“Consumers have clearly shown their enthusiasm for sweet heat flavor combinations,” Chris Brandt, chief brand officer at Chipotle, said in a statement. “We have had tremendous success with ‘swicy’ innovations and believe Chipotle Honey Chicken will capture fans with a whole new level of excitement.”
Chipotle has five signature protein offerings that are available year-round—carnitas, chicken, steak, beef barbacoa, and plant-based sofritas. In addition to the classics, it has also rolled out a few limited-time protein options in recent years, including its fan-favorite Carne Asada, Chicken al Pastor, Pollo Asado, plant-based Chorizo, and now, the Chipotle Honey Chicken.
In the launch announcement for the new swicy poultry, Chipotle said that “innovation remains a key priority” and customers should expect to see more new protein options roll out in the future.
“Chipotle aims to deliver two to three menu innovations per year, leveraging its stage-gate process to listen, test, and learn from guest and employee feedback and iterate before deciding on a national launch strategy.”
The Chipotle Honey Chicken launch isn’t the only major Chipotle news to come out recently. The chain announced earlier this month that CEO Brian Niccol is leaving his post on Aug. 31 to take on the CEO role at Starbucks. Additionally, after receiving a barrage of customer complaints about portion sizes on social media, Chipotle executives revealed workers at some locations were being retrained to ensure they serve consistent, correctly made food to guests.
Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe
