bake - January 2015 - 50

cafe

1.25 BILLION
WINGS ARE
DEVOURED DURING
THE BIG GAME.

Wing Season
For bakery cafes that serve chicken wings- and an increasing

with wings,

number do- the stage is set for a giant sales surge leading up

at 35 percent.

to the culmination of the professional football season on Feb.
1, 2015. That is the date when football's ﬁnal two playoff teams

The data also show

square off for the big game in Phoenix, Arizona.

that more than four in ﬁve US
adults (81 percent) eat chicken

According to the National Chicken Council's 2014 Wing Report,

wings, up two percentage points

1.25 billion wings are devoured during the big game.

over last year. Consumption does

81%
OF US ADULTS
EAT CHICKEN WINGS,
UP TWO PERCENTAGE
POINTS OVER
LAST YEAR.

not vary signiﬁcantly by gender.
Interestingly, a city without a pro football team, the residents of

Women (78 percent) are just as likely

Columbia, South Carolina, have the highest order rate for chicken

as men (84 percent) to roll up their sleeves,

wings among the 42 local markets tracked by The NPD Group.

break out the wet naps and eat a few wings.

They are 56 percent more likely to eat wings than the average.
Further, 35 percent of wing lovers choose barbecue sauce
People in New Orleans eat 21 percent more wings than the

as their typical snack or dipping sauce; 32 percent said blue

national average, while Seattle (home to the defending cham-

cheese; 31 percent hot sauce; 29 percent celery; and 17 percent

pions) is 44 percent less likely to enjoy wings, according to

choose carrots. Ten percent of wing lovers describe themselves

NPD data.

as purists who eat nothing with their wings.

Flavor Preferences

Favorite Style

More than half (51 percent) of US adults who eat chicken wings

Among those US adults who eat chicken wings, nearly two-

said they typically like to eat their wings with ranch dressing,

thirds (65 percent) say Buffalo wings are among their favorite

according to a National Chicken Council poll conducted online

ﬂavors and styles, with 39 percent saying they prefer mild, 36

in 2014 by Harris Interactive.

percent hot and eight percent "atomic."

Ranch is once again the No. 1 side or sauce typically eaten with

Women (62 percent) are just as likely as men (67 percent) to

wings, but down six percent from 57 percent one year ago.

choose Buffalo style as their favorite. More than four in 10 (44

Only about one-third (32 percent) prefer blue cheese dressing.

percent) women aged 18-34 like their Buffalo wings hot, signiﬁcantly more than any other female age category.

Northeastern wing eaters, though, are signiﬁcantly more likely
to prefer blue cheese dressing (45 percent) than those in the

Northeastern wing eaters are signiﬁcantly more likely (74

Midwest, South (both 31 percent) and West (23 percent), while

percent) to prefer Buffalo style wings than those in the

those regions are more likely to prefer ranch dressing. Of all US

Midwest (63 percent), South (61 percent) or West (62 percent).

adults who eat wings, barbeque sauce, not blue cheese, comes

Folks in the Midwest are signiﬁcantly more likely (57 percent)

in second after ranch as the dipping sauce most typically eaten

to choose barbecue wings as among their favorites.

50 < JAN 2015 | bakemag.com

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bake - January 2015

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