Chick-fil-A has dropped its first merchandise collection, called Chick-fil-A Originals.
The new limited collection is available online at shop.chick-fil-a.com and includes products that showcase the chain’s signature menu offerings, such as “I Heart Waffle Fries” hoodies and “Sauce Blanket and Nugget” pillow sets. There are also coffee mugs, notecard sets, totes, socks, a “shareable bag of cows” and more. The company said it expects the collection to sell out quickly, but adds that plans are in the works for more merchandise launches in 2023. Customers who subscribe at shop.chick-fil-a.com will get a first look at future launches.
According to Kate Neyhart, brand strategy at Chick-fil-A, customers have been asking for merchandise from the brand for a “long time.”
“It’s truly a ‘thank you’ to them with both a collection and an online shopping experience we think they’ll love,” Neyhart said. “A premium e-commerce experience is something we’ve been exploring for several years, but we wanted to take our time and be intentional about the collections we were designing and how we wanted to bring them to market. This initial collection is inspired by the little things that make Chick-fil-A original and is meant to be a fun celebration of that originality.”
Several restaurant brands have jumped into merchandising in the past several years. Taco Bell introduced its Live Mas store in 2013, while sister chain KFC opened an online merch store in 2017, for instance. Since 2019, brands like Chipotle, El Pollo Loco, McDonald’s, Chili’s, Velvet Taco and Denny’s have opened online merch stores.
According to Lightspeed, there are several benefits that come with adding branded merchandise. The products create an additional revenue stream, for example, while also generating top-of-mind awareness and creating brand advocacy, or “walking billboard,” opportunities for customers.
Chick-fil-A itself used to have an apparel website at cfaapparel.com but the website indicates that it is closed and encourages visitors to sign up for the Chick-fil-A One membership program to receive future updates about merchandise.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
