Chick-fil-A — the Christian-owned restaurant chain famously closed on Sundays — generated more than $21 billion in sales in 2023, a stunning 14.7% increase over the previous year’s $18.81 billion.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, the Atlanta-based eatery earned $21.51 billion in sales last year, which, on top of being a nearly 15% increase from the prior year, was a whopping 43% increase from 2021’s $15 billion in sales.
Chick-fil-A “has essentially doubled its total sales volume since 2018,” the report stated.
The popular franchise, launched by Samuel Truett Cathy in 1946 in Hapeville, Georgia, outshined its chicken-serving competitors by a wide margin. Popeyes grew its sales in 2023 by 10% (to $5.51 billion) from the previous year, while Kentucky Fried Chicken finished the year with a 1.7% increase (to $5.17 billion).
Additionally, the average check at Chick-fil-A is $13.95, higher than both Popeyes ($12.30) and Kentucky Fried Chicken ($12.65).
News of Chick-fil-A’s revenue success comes as the quick-service food franchise abandoned its long-held pledge to serve only antibiotic-free chicken.
In a statement shared on its website, the restaurant announced it is shifting its commitment from “No Antibiotics Ever (NAE)” to “No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine (NAIHM)” beginning this spring.
Antibiotics will only be used “if the animal and those around it were to become sick,” the statement read.
The concern is the use of antibiotics in poultry will, over time, weaken the effectiveness of those medications in treating illnesses because the human immune system will develop tolerances for such drugs. To that end, Chick-fil-A noted the medications used to treat animals are not intended for humans.
Chick-fil-A is one of many companies to move in that direction as an avian flu outbreak severely impacted poultry supplies nationwide, forcing chicken farmers to turn to antibiotics.
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