The Rise of Wingstop: How the Franchise is Taking Over the Chicken Wing Market in 2023

What began as a small, buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant in Garland, Texas, became known as the fan-favorite chicken wing franchise that is Wingstop. Today, the chain has grown from that single location to over 2,000 around the world.  

After being founded in 1994, Wingstop first began offering franchising opportunities just three years later. By 2002, it had already served the world 1 billion wings. The brand has developed somewhat of a cult following with consumers in the areas that it operates in, as well as a rapport in the franchise industry, recently claiming the number 10 spot on Entrepreneur’s coveted Franchise 500 list. 

So what’s in the secret sauce to Wingstop’s success? 

“We believe we’re in a category of one—no one does what we do like we do it,” said Craig Sherwood, Senior Vice President of U.S. Development. Here are a few reasons why they think so. 

Innovating While Staying True to the Brand

Although Wingstop is famously known for its chicken wings and variety of sauce flavors, the brand is also known for bringing consumers innovative limited time offerings (LTOs). Over the past few years, Wingstop has unveiled LTO flavors like Orange Szechuan; the Blazed & Glazed 4/20 special; Carolina Gold; and its most popular to date, Hot Honey Rub. 

“At Wingstop, we’re constantly thinking of innovative ways to bring flavor for our fans to feed their cravings,” said Sherwood. 

The brand has also been able to pivot when necessary. In 2020, when chicken wings were in short supply, the franchise launched a virtual-only concept called Thighstop. Wingstop said it was “hacking” its own brand by launching the virtual restaurant that served up crispy chicken thighs. 

In the summer of 2022, the brand launched a new fan favorite: the Wingstop Chicken Sandwich. Sherwood noted that the launch was so successful that the company actually burned through six weeks of inventory in just a single week. Additional innovations over the years have included value offerings and bundled meals such as the Boneless Meal Deal. 

However, the beauty of the Wingstop’s menu, Sherwood says, is really its simplicity. 

“Very little has changed in our 29+ years in business,” he said. “We innovate and add new LTOs, but focus on chicken wings, tenders, fries, dips and sides at the core of our menu.” 

By staying true to what put it on the map, the brand has seen 19 consecutive years of same-store sales growth. 

“We haven’t seen a need to evolve the menu from those core products or deviate from what makes us us,” added Sherwood. 

Using Technology and Adding Value

As evidenced by the Thighstop endeavor, Wingstop does not shy away from utilizing digital tools. In fact, Wingstop generates nearly 65% of its business from digital sales and has its sights set on achieving 100% digital transactions in the future. In November 2018, the brand launched a nationwide, phased rollout of delivery and expanded that offering to include UberEats in 2022.  

“We’ve made heavy investments in our tech stack,” said Sherwood. “And when COVID forced business to shutter doors overnight, we seamlessly transitioned to 100% off-premise thanks to these investments we made pre-pandemic.”

Meanwhile, as restaurants battled significant inflation in 2022, Sherwood noted that Wingstop experienced a deflation in its core commodity of bone-in wings. With this deflation, the brand was able to give back to the consumer by way of value through pricing on its Wingstop Chicken Sandwich a la carte and meal, as well as the Boneless Meal Deal. 

“Our supply chain team has also done an excellent job negotiating pricing with our supplier partners and has been hard at work to help insulate the business from the volatility we see on the spot market for bone-in wings,” added Sherwood.

How Franchisees Are Positioned for Success

At Wingstop, franchisees are referred to as brand partners. “And that’s really where it all starts,” said Sherwood. 

“We appreciate their stewardship and view them as true partners of the brand, who we invest in and grow with long-term,” he added. “On the business side, we provide a powerful economic model for our brand partners: 19 years of consecutive positive same-store sales growth, $1.6 million AUVs and an initial investment that can deliver a two-year payback.”

With its sights set on 7,000 global units, including 4,000 domestic and 3,000 international units, Wingstop is looking for brand partners who are ready to grow with them.