McDonald’s to put Mighty Wings on the menu for fall

McDonald's is set to hatch a fast-food menu item in a fast-growing category it wants to own: chicken wings.

The world's biggest fast-food chain plans a limited-time roll-out of its "Mighty Wings" starting Sept. 9 — with a nationwide roll-out to be complete by Sept. 24, says Leslie Truelove, director of marketing at McDonald's USA.

The bone-in wings, breaded and seasoned with cayenne and chili pepper, will be sold through November.

The wings will be sold in packs of three, five and 10, starting at $2.99. And customers can choose from nine sauces, ranging from creamy ranch to chipotle barbecue.

Ronald McDonald doesn't want to stay grounded as the snack takes flight in the fast-food industry.

By some estimates, wings rank among the fastest-growing category for food-on-the-run restaurants — with sales topping $8 billion in 2012, reports GuestMetrics. That's up 11% over a year earlier.

"Wings is a major move," says Scott Hume, editor of the BurgerBusiness blog, which broke the news Monday. "It's like the Colonel adding a cheeseburger."

Mighty Wings will make McDonald's a "serious competitor" to KFC, Popeyes, Church's and other chicken chains, Hume adds.

Industry analysts are already impressed. "We view the introduction of Mighty Wings as a meaningful catalyst" for improved sales, says Lynne Collier, a restaurant analyst at the firm Sterne Agee.

The chicken segment seems to be on fire. The move by McDonald's comes less than a year after fast-food rival KFC upended its menu and began selling boneless chicken.

Then, in April, competitor Chick-fil-A upgraded its salad offerings in a bid to appeal to a wider consumer segment, especially Millennials.

Monday's announcement by McDonald's "continues the blurring of the lines between burger, chicken, sandwich and pizza chains," says Hume.

And it's a bid by McDonald's to juice sluggish sales that have plagued most fast-food companies in recent months. "The market is such that chains need menu news continuously, not occasionally," says Hume.

McDonald's executives believe Mighty Wings will be a hit. The wings were tested in Atlanta, in the fall of 2012, and have since returned.