Recently the company announced the launch of four new premium chicken burgers, supported by significant marketing investment, and promises there is more chicken to come in the next few months.

McDonald's New Zealand Managing Director Mark Hawthorne says that the company's long-term business objective is to be a major player in the chicken market, and that there is a clear business case for the company to invest more significantly in this market.

“Chicken is one of New Zealand’s favourite meats with an average of 36 kilograms consumed by each New Zealander each year. As the world's most experienced burger business, we know how to meet our customers' needs and this extends to offering more choice to those customers who prefer chicken.

"We're quite open about the fact that we are actively taking on KFC with this chicken launch – we want to be the number one seller of chicken in three years.

“Additionally, McDonald's use of an oil that is low in saturated fat and virtually trans-fat free gives us an edge over our competitors, many of whom are still cooking their chicken in high-saturated fat oil," says Mr Hawthorne.

McDonald’s has launched a worldwide assault on the chicken market, with demand outweighing supply in a number of countries.

“The global response to chicken has been phenomenal, and we are confident we’ll create that same excitement here. These premium burgers are only the beginning, with a wider range of chicken products planned for a few months time.

“The new burgers launched today give customers the option of crispy (coated and fried) or seared (cooked on a hotplate) chicken breasts in their burgers. The seared chicken breast will also be used to create a new, lighter choice DeliChoice roll – it's another step in our journey to provide people with more choice when they visit McDonald's," says Mr Hawthorne.

McDonald’s is supported by local poultry producers Ingham's and Tegel who will supply the high quality, 100% chicken breast fillets used in the new products.