Chipotle has just launched a new sweet and spicy chicken

Unlike many of its fast-food competitors, Chipotle is fairly unusual in adding new or limited-time items to its menu — which offers a relatively small selection of proteins and toppings that customers can use to customize bowls, burritos and more. But in a rare but exciting development, the chain has just introduced a sweet and spicy new chicken option that it says is “unlike any of its proteins to date.”

The new Chipotle Honey Chicken is currently being tested for a limited time in 80 Chipotle restaurants in Nashville, Tennessee, and Sacramento, California. While customers in other parts of the country won’t have access to the new protein for now, fast-food chains often test new menu innovations in select markets to see how customers respond. So if the Chipotle Honey Chicken gets a good response from fans during the test rollout, it could potentially be rolled out more broadly to customers later on.

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Described as a “bold new take on spicy honey,” the chicken is marinated with roasted, smoked adobo peppers, seasoned with zesty Mexican spices and finished with a touch of honey. Chipotle said it conducted consumer taste tests of the sweet and savory protein before launching the limited test run, and the Chipotle Honey Chicken “exceeded consumer expectations, achieving the highest ratings of any chicken innovation Chipotle has sensory tested.”

This is not too surprising considering that sweet and spicy (also called “swicy”) flavors have recently become increasingly popular with consumers.

“Consumers have clearly demonstrated their enthusiasm for sweet and spicy flavor combinations,” said Chris Brandt, chief brand officer at Chipotle, in a statement. “We’ve had tremendous success with ‘Swicy’ innovations and believe Chipotle Honey Chicken will take fans to a whole new level of excitement.”

Chipotle offers five unique protein offerings that are available year-round: carnitas, chicken, steak, beef barbacoa, and plant-based sofritas. In addition to the classics, the company has also launched some limited-time protein options in recent years, including Fan-Favorite Carne Asada, Chicken al Pastor, Chicken Asado, vegetable chorizoand now the chipotle honey chicken.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

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In the launch announcement for the new Swicy chicken dish, Chipotle said that “innovation continues to be our top priority” and customers can expect to see more new protein options introduced in the future.

“Chipotle aims to deliver two to three menu innovations per year, using its Stage-Gate process to listen to guest and employee feedback, test, learn and iterate before deciding on a national launch strategy.”

The introduction of Chipotle Honey Chicken is not the only big news at Chipotle recently. The chain announced Earlier this month, it was announced that CEO Brian Niccol will be leaving his post on August 31 to assume the role of CEO at Starbucks. In addition, received a flood of customer complaints about portion sizes On social media, Chipotle executives announced that employees at some locations had been retrained to ensure that they consistently serve guests properly prepared food.

Zoe Strozewski