Chick-fil-A Wants to Serve Its Chicken Sandwiches in Asia and Europe

“We feel like it’s time to continue to innovate and try and test how we will do in international markets so that we can learn,” Mr. Cathy said. 

The crispy chicken sandwich, often served with a pickle and spicy or tangy sauce, has become the focus of a yearslong battle among U.S. fast-food companies. Chains including

McDonald’s Corp.

MCD 0.15%

and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen have introduced crispy battered versions in the past four years. Americans ordered 2.8 billion breaded chicken sandwiches during the 12 months ended in January, up 21% from the same period three years ago, according to market-research firm Circana Group.  

Sales of Chick-fil-A’s signature crispy chicken-breast sandwich have long been ahead of the pack. The company’s relatively simple menu focused on poultry has helped privately held Chick-fil-A grow to become the third-biggest U.S. fast-food chain by sales behind McDonald’s and

Starbucks Corp.

, according to market-research firm Technomic Inc. 

Its U.S. sales have quadrupled in the past decade, with its restaurants averaging more yearly sales than any other fast-food chain and many sit-down ones, Technomic said. 

Chick-fil-A is still determining how many international restaurants it will open overseas, Mr. Cathy said. It is planning to stick with its model in which franchisees run just one restaurant, working closely with the company and splitting profit with the chain after paying fees.

Chick-fil-A has dabbled with international locations in the years since entrepreneur

Truett Cathy

started the family-owned company in 1967, but its previous efforts to launch individual overseas locations have had mixed results. 

A foray into South Africa in 1996 ended in 2001 when Chick-fil-A couldn’t build enough awareness of its brand, the company said. A U.K. location opened in a mall in a borough west of London in 2019 drew opposition from local gay-rights advocates. It closed several months later. Activists and some customers have criticized past statements by former Chick-fil-A Chief Executive

Dan Cathy

and donations by the company’s charitable foundation that they said discriminated against gay people. 

Anita Costello,

the chain’s executive vice president for international, said the chain seeks to serve all customers in its markets, and that it takes seriously concerns raised about the company. 

Chick-fil-A opened its first Canadian location in Toronto in 2019 and now runs a total of eight in the country, as well as three in Puerto Rico.

Chick-fil-A’s planned expansion internationally could ratchet up competition among more-established international chicken competitors. In Asia, where fast-food chicken sales totaled about $33 billion last year, KFC held 39% of the market in 2022 after years of growth there, followed by Philippines-based

Jollibee Foods Corp.

, according to research firm Euromonitor International. 

KFC also dominated Western Europe’s $6.1 billion fast-food chicken market in 2022, followed by South African-style Nando’s Peri-Peri, Euromonitor said. 

KFC parent

Yum Brands Inc.

told investors in December that it opened a new restaurant every two hours on average across its brands in the past two years, including thousands of KFCs, most of them outside the U.S.

Restaurant Brands International Inc.

said during an investor presentation last month that it is pushing Popeyes for international growth.

Chick-fil-A executives said they expect their global restaurants to perform similarly to their roughly 2,700 U.S. locations. The company’s U.S. restaurants averaged $6.3 million in sales in 2021 despite being closed on Sundays, roughly four times the average domestically for rivals KFC and Popeyes, according to Technomic. 

Chick-fil-A executives said they are looking to open restaurants in countries in Asia and Europe with stable economies, dense populations and a demand for chicken. They said they are still determining how to replicate their supply chain abroad, and will likely use local and existing U.S. suppliers, Andrew Cathy said. 

Chick-fil-A said it expects its international locations to serve its chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and milkshakes. The company will likely offer some local twists on its menu, but not alter it extensively, executives said. Chick-fil-A has said a simple menu helps with its operations. 

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com

“We feel like it’s time to continue to innovate and try and test how we will do in international markets so that we can learn,” Mr. Cathy said. 

The crispy chicken sandwich, often served with a pickle and spicy or tangy sauce, has become the focus of a yearslong battle among U.S. fast-food companies. Chains including

McDonald’s Corp.

MCD 0.15%

and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen have introduced crispy battered versions in the past four years. Americans ordered 2.8 billion breaded chicken sandwiches during the 12 months ended in January, up 21% from the same period three years ago, according to market-research firm Circana Group.  

Sales of Chick-fil-A’s signature crispy chicken-breast sandwich have long been ahead of the pack. The company’s relatively simple menu focused on poultry has helped privately held Chick-fil-A grow to become the third-biggest U.S. fast-food chain by sales behind McDonald’s and

Starbucks Corp.

, according to market-research firm Technomic Inc. 

Its U.S. sales have quadrupled in the past decade, with its restaurants averaging more yearly sales than any other fast-food chain and many sit-down ones, Technomic said. 

Chick-fil-A is still determining how many international restaurants it will open overseas, Mr. Cathy said. It is planning to stick with its model in which franchisees run just one restaurant, working closely with the company and splitting profit with the chain after paying fees.

Chick-fil-A has dabbled with international locations in the years since entrepreneur

Truett Cathy

started the family-owned company in 1967, but its previous efforts to launch individual overseas locations have had mixed results. 

A foray into South Africa in 1996 ended in 2001 when Chick-fil-A couldn’t build enough awareness of its brand, the company said. A U.K. location opened in a mall in a borough west of London in 2019 drew opposition from local gay-rights advocates. It closed several months later. Activists and some customers have criticized past statements by former Chick-fil-A Chief Executive

Dan Cathy

and donations by the company’s charitable foundation that they said discriminated against gay people. 

Anita Costello,

the chain’s executive vice president for international, said the chain seeks to serve all customers in its markets, and that it takes seriously concerns raised about the company. 

Chick-fil-A opened its first Canadian location in Toronto in 2019 and now runs a total of eight in the country, as well as three in Puerto Rico.

Chick-fil-A’s planned expansion internationally could ratchet up competition among more-established international chicken competitors. In Asia, where fast-food chicken sales totaled about $33 billion last year, KFC held 39% of the market in 2022 after years of growth there, followed by Philippines-based

Jollibee Foods Corp.

, according to research firm Euromonitor International. 

KFC also dominated Western Europe’s $6.1 billion fast-food chicken market in 2022, followed by South African-style Nando’s Peri-Peri, Euromonitor said. 

KFC parent

Yum Brands Inc.

told investors in December that it opened a new restaurant every two hours on average across its brands in the past two years, including thousands of KFCs, most of them outside the U.S.

Restaurant Brands International Inc.

said during an investor presentation last month that it is pushing Popeyes for international growth.

Chick-fil-A executives said they expect their global restaurants to perform similarly to their roughly 2,700 U.S. locations. The company’s U.S. restaurants averaged $6.3 million in sales in 2021 despite being closed on Sundays, roughly four times the average domestically for rivals KFC and Popeyes, according to Technomic. 

Chick-fil-A executives said they are looking to open restaurants in countries in Asia and Europe with stable economies, dense populations and a demand for chicken. They said they are still determining how to replicate their supply chain abroad, and will likely use local and existing U.S. suppliers, Andrew Cathy said. 

Chick-fil-A said it expects its international locations to serve its chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and milkshakes. The company will likely offer some local twists on its menu, but not alter it extensively, executives said. Chick-fil-A has said a simple menu helps with its operations. 

Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com