As the United States faces a global chicken wing shortage, one might expect the festivities for “National Chicken Wing Day” to be more muted this year.
Rather than let the event go by unnoticed, however, Wingstop’s spin off virtual concept, Thighstop (launched as a result of the shortage), is taking over the celebration and rebranding the day, “Thighstop Thigh Day.” In celebration, the company is offering consumers a chance to try the new, meatier offering for free.
“We might be doing it a little differently, but it’s important for us to continue the National Chicken Wing Day tradition by rewarding our fans with free food, especially when other restaurants may not be participating this year,” said Chad Scurlock, the company’s vice president of marketing.. “This was a perfect opportunity to show how we’re elevating thighs from the bucket to the center-of-the-plate and giving them the crispy, juicy attention they deserve.“
The company is offering consumers the chance to receive two free bone-in thighs, tossed in one of the chain’s bold signature sauces, with any purchase of $15 dollars made through the Thighstop website or DoorDash. In addition, the company is introducing a limited-time flavor, Jamaican Jerk BBQ. The company will also donate $10,000 to Wingstop Charities, which supports youth in local communities to pursue their passions in education, arts, sports and career development.
The company will share promotional content encouraging consumers to “Save a Wing. Eat a Thigh” on its Wingstop and Thighstop social channels. In addition, Wingstop brand ambassador Rick Ross will share content on his personal social channels, and the brand will tout the promotion on DoorDash.
Wingstop launched its Thighstop virtual concept in June 2021, amid reports that the COVID-19 pandemic had stretched demand for chicken wings to crisis levels. The idea quickly went viral on social media channels.
“We were happy to see how excited our fans were about the announcement [of Thighstop}, and how eager everyone was to try thighs,” Scurlock said. “We’d been testing thighs in a few markets last year and knew fans were really going to love this crispy, juicy part of the chicken.”
