Chick-fil-A's real advantage isn't just service or franchising. Modern chickens weigh twice as much as 1950s birds while eating half the feed. A calorie of chicken costs 60% of pork and a third of beef, giving Chick-fil-A the cheapest protein and higher revenues than KFC or Burger King.
The average Chick-fil-A sells $9.4 million a year of food. So the worst Chick-fil-A in the world did more revenue than the average Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, or Burger King. But why does Chick-fil-A win? People know Chick-fil-A's great customer service and unique franchising model, but is that the whole winning formula? Well, the humble chicken itself is actually Chick-fil-A's secret weapon. Today's chickens are not the same chickens as your grandfather knew 70 years ago. In 1955, the chicken averaged 3 pounds at adulthood and needed 9 pounds of feed to get there. Today they average 6.5 pounds in weight and take only 5.7 7 pounds of feed to get there. So today you get twice the chicken for about half the input cost. But how did that happen? Well, selective breeding has created super chickens optimized to grow fast and super cheaply, while other animals like cows and pigs haven't done the same over time. One calorie of chicken meat costs about 60% the cost to produce one calorie of pork and just one-third the cost of one calorie of beef. Chicken is by far the most cost-efficient and tasty protein source available for us. And the good news for Chick-fil-A is they sell only chicken.
