champs chicken

Name

champs chicken

Legal name

Champs Chicken

Website

https://champschicken.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quick-Service Fried Chicken Restaurants

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Chicken & Wings QSR (THAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Chicken Concepts (Fried/Grilled/Hot Chicken) (THAFABAI), Pizza, Wings & Oven-Baked Prepared Foods (In-Store Concepts) (CRAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Fried chicken QSR
• Restaurant franchise operations
• Corporate catering services
• Convenience store foodservice
• Mobile food ordering

Headquarters

HQ city

Holts Summit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Franchise Licensing and Royalties: Champs Chicken generates revenue through a franchise model, partnering with convenience stores, retailers, and independent operators. They provide the brand, products, equipment, training, and marketing support while franchisees operate the locations and pay ongoing royalties and fees.
2. Direct Food Sales: Revenue from direct food sales to consumers through company-owned locations and through the Grab & Go program in partner retail locations. Products include chicken tenders, sandwiches, sides, and catering packages.
3. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering services offering breakfast, boxed lunches, family meals, and catering packages for parties, office lunches, and family feasts. Ordered through ezcater and direct ordering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Champs Chicken sells fresh, double-breaded fried chicken and related menu items through franchised restaurants, convenience-store and food-retail partner sites, and stand-alone locations. It also provides franchisees with a turnkey Grab & Go program and offers catering, online and mobile ordering, loyalty rewards, and delivery through third-party services.

Product overview

Champs Chicken is a fried chicken quick-service restaurant chain operating on a franchise model with over 400 locations across 40+ states. The company offers a unified product portfolio centered on fresh, double-breaded fried chicken with supporting menu categories. Core offerings include fried chicken tenders, premium chicken sandwiches, ChampStix, chicken dipper bowls, and chicken dippers. The menu extends to boxed lunches, family meals, and catering packages for group events. Side items include mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, potato wedges, green beans, hushpuppies, and corn. Breakfast items and dipping sauces round out the menu. The company operates a Grab & Go self-service program for contact-free purchasing and offers catering services through EZ Cater. Digital products include a mobile app with loyalty rewards functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fresh Fried Chicken Tenders Fresh, double-breaded fried chicken tenders are marinated and breaded in Champs Chicken's original secret blend of seasonings and spices for individual sale.
• Premium Chicken Sandwich A chicken sandwich served on a soft, warm brioche bun with crunchy breading, available plain or with sauces including Buffalo or Sweet N' Smokey BBQ.
• ChampStix Fried chicken served on a stick as an individual menu item that can be paired with dipping sauce.
• Chicken Dipper Bowl A complete meal bowl containing mashed potatoes, chicken dippers, corn, white gravy, and shredded cheese.
• Chicken Dippers Bite-sized versions of Champs Chicken chicken tenders offered in individual meals, boxes, and catering orders.
• Fried Fish A fried fish option available for catering and boxed-lunch orders.
• Side Dishes Side items include mashed potatoes with brown or white peppered gravy, potato wedges, sweet corn, mac & cheese, cinnamon apples, green beans, and hushpuppies.
• Breakfast Menu Morning offerings include the 3-Meat Breakfast Sandwich, Chicken Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich, Biscuit Breakfast Sandwich, Loaded Burrito, and Biscuits & Gravy.
• Dipping Sauces Sauce options include sweet & smokey BBQ, buffalo, honey mustard, sassy chipotle ranch dressing, sweet & sour, ranch, and tartar sauce.
• Champs Chicken Franchise Program A franchise offering for convenience stores, food retailers, and independent operators that provides the brand, products, equipment, training, marketing support, and national buying power for full-service and in-store foodservice locations.
• Grab & Go Program A turnkey in-store retail program in which pre-prepared food is stocked in self-service merchandisers and warmers for quick customer selection with minimal personal contact.
• Catering Services Catering for parties, office lunches, family feasts, meetings, and events, with breakfast, boxed lunches, family meals, and group packages ordered directly or through ezcater.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grew from $100k in Year 1 (1999) to over $67 million by 2018
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Super Sam FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPediatric cancer foundation founded by Cassie and Matt, who lost their son Sam to Rhabdomyosarcoma. Champs Chicken partners through their Mealtime Hero program to raise awareness about childhood cancer and fund research. The foundation funds research grants and creates support packs for children fighting cancer, their siblings, and caregivers. Less than 4% of research funds go toward childhood cancers. Shawn Burcham, CEO of PFSbrands, supports this cause.
• St. Clair Butterfly FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization that empowers children and teens healing from trauma through therapeutic creative arts programs. Works in schools, shelters, and community spaces to foster resilience and transformation.
• UberEatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party food delivery platform partnership enabling customers to order Champs Chicken for home delivery at participating locations.
• GrubHubcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party food delivery platform partnership enabling customers to order Champs Chicken for home delivery at participating locations.
• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party food delivery platform partnership enabling customers to order Champs Chicken for home delivery at participating locations.
• ezcatercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCorporate catering platform partnership for ordering catering services for events, office lunches, and group meals. Streamlines the catering order process through their platform.
• PFSbrandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company of Champs Chicken. Provides national headquarters support, professional marketing team, national buying power, franchise support, and operational infrastructure. Founded by Shawn and Julie Burcham. Also parent company of BluTaco brand.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken): Yum! Brands-owned global chicken QSR with massive scale. Comparable to Champs Chicken as the dominant fried-chicken quick-service concept, though KFC operates at vastly greater scale and a much broader menu.
• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen: Restaurant Brands International-owned chicken QSR known for fried chicken and sandwiches. Direct competitor to Champs Chicken in the chicken QSR category, with significantly larger scale and brand awareness.
• Chick-fil-A: Largest U.S. chicken QSR by sales, operator-led franchised model. Comparable to Champs Chicken in category and franchisee-led unit economics, but with dramatically higher brand equity, average unit volume, and digital infrastructure.
• Wingstop: Public chicken-wing-focused QSR franchise with strong digital and off-premise channels. Adjacent peer to Champs Chicken given shared chicken QSR franchise model, but specializes in wings rather than bone-in fried chicken.

Direct peers

• Bojangles: Regional chicken-and-biscuits QSR chain, primarily in the Southeast U.S. Directly comparable to Champs Chicken as a fried-chicken-focused QSR franchise with a similar menu architecture (chicken, sides, breakfast) and limited-but-expanding geographic footprint.
• Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers: Fast-growing chicken-focused QSR specializing in chicken fingers. Comparable to Champs Chicken in single-protein focus, franchise model, and QSR service format, with a much stronger recent growth trajectory and brand momentum.
• Church's Texas Chicken: Fried-chicken QSR franchise with broad U.S. presence and international footprint. Comparable to Champs Chicken as a fried-chicken-focused QSR with similar unit economics, value positioning, and franchise-driven growth strategy.
• Slim Chickens: Emerging chicken-tenders QSR franchise expanding across the U.S. Comparable to Champs Chicken in product focus (chicken tenders/sandwiches), franchise-led growth, and positioning against larger chicken QSR incumbents.

Emerging players

• PDQ (People Dedicated to Quality): Fast-casual chicken tenders and salads concept with a smaller footprint than major chicken QSRs. Comparable to Champs Chicken in chicken-forward menu and franchise model, though operates a fast-casual rather than QSR service format.

Regional players

• Pollo Campero: Latin-American-rooted fried chicken QSR with growing U.S. presence. Comparable to Champs Chicken in fried-chicken category and franchise model, but primarily serves Hispanic/Latino demographics and is concentrated in specific U.S. regions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/ChampsChicken
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChampsChicken
• Instagraminstagram.com/thechampschicken
• TikToktiktok.com/@champschicken
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/champs-chicken

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about champs chicken