Why Burger King Trademarked Its Chicken Tenders

If the so-called "chicken sandwich wars" are anything to go by, fast-food companies have a strong focus on selling fried chicken. While places such as KFC, Popeyes, and Chick-fil-A are well-known for focusing solely on chicken, other mainstream fast-food restaurants have made various attempts to muscle in on the chicken market, each with varying degrees of success.

One of the most famous chicken products on the market is McDonald's McNuggets, those crispy, golden morsels full of white-meat chicken and covered in a light tempura coating. While McDonald's can't say it invented chicken nuggets (History.com explains that agricultural scientist Robert Baker invented chicken nuggets in 1963), the humble McNugget has gone on to become one of McDonald's keystone items and one of the most recognizable items in all of fast food. Thrillist explains that McDonald's faith in the Chicken McNugget was so great that the company hired a French chef to perfect the recipe, perhaps adding to the allure and popularity of these poultry-based snacks.

Wait a second, you're probably saying, where does Burger King and its chicken tenders come into all of this? To discuss Burger King's attempts to make deep-fried chicken history, we must first understand what the restaurant was going up against and why the company went to such great lengths to protect what it saw as its "secret weapon" against the powerful McNugget.

Imagine being the CEO of Burger King in 1983. You're hearing reports of "McNugget Mania" sweeping the nation as your main rival, McDonald's, rolls out what it's calling "Chicken McNuggets." You know that if these McNuggets manage to take off, your company could be left in the dust. Burger King needed to catch up with the times — if it's chicken the people wanted, it's chicken they would get. 

In 1985, Burger King rolled outs its chicken tenders. The introductory commercial, accompanied by a soulful chorus proclaiming "there's nothing like the real thing, baby," tells customers that, unlike a certain "nugget," the new tenders are made from 100% chicken breast filet instead of ground, processed chicken meat. To ensure that no one else could steal its idea, Burger King trademarked the term "chicken tenders," per a 1988 report from the Associated Press. (After all, if McDonald's could coin the term "McNugget," why couldn't Burger King stake a claim on chicken, too?)

Unfortunately, the trademark eventually raised some trouble for Burger King in 1994. Pilgrim's Pride introduced what it called "chicken breast tenders" that same year, leading Burger King to take the company to court regarding what it saw as "copyright theft." Burger King was set on keeping its claim on tenders to itself, even if it meant going to court to protect it.

While Burger King's chicken tenders may sound like they were just another invention of the 1980s designed to compete with McDonald's McNuggets, Burger King actually reintroduced its chicken tenders again in 2018 — this time with a makeover. ChewBoom described them as being "whole-muscle, white-meat chicken coated in a homestyle seasoned breading," unlike the tempura-coated strips of chicken breast seen in the 1980s.

The Impulsive Buy's review of the Crispy Chicken Tenders, meanwhile, was blunt. "BK's latest menu addendum isn't going to win any awards for creativity, but it makes up for its lack of originality by being a plain tasty offering," the outlet wrote. Brand Eating's review, however, noted the high breading-to-chicken ratio and claimed the chicken was a bit dry, as if they were eating a thick, salty slab of breading.

While Burger King's tenders are no longer on the menu, at least the chain still has chicken nuggets to hold fans over.