Starbird reinvents its chicken sandwich lineup with bold flavors and elevated ingredients

Starbird’s revamped chicken sandwich lineup features new packaging along with new flavors. | Photo courtesy of Starbird.

Chicken specialist Starbird launched a reinvented sandwich category on its menu.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based fast casual revamped its original Starbird Sandwich, upgraded its Cali Bacon Sandwich and introduced the new Seoul Star Sandwich—all with elevated ingredients and bolder flavors.

Guests can now choose from a lineup of six crispy chicken sandwiches. Each sandwich starts with a larger, more succulent 4-ounce chicken fillet and features unique sauces, all layered on an artisan brioche bun from California’s La Brea Bakery.

The chain’s original crispy chicken sandwich has been upgraded and renamed Starbird 2.0. It is layered with that 4-ounce chicken fillet, herb aioli, rainbow slaw, pickled red onions and avocado mash.

Seoul Star takes a page from on-trend Korean fried chicken. This brand-new sandwich is flavored with a sweet soy glaze and Korean Seoul sauce, then topped with shredded cabbage, cucumbers, toasted sesame seeds, green onion and chili flakes. The Cali Bacon Sandwich, previously on the menu, has been elevated with thick-cut Applewood-smoked bacon along with the larger chicken fillet; toppings include classic slaw, pickled red onions and signature Star Sauce.

Rounding out the chicken sandwich category are the basic Big Star chicken sandwich, Nashville HotBird and Gardenbird, the plant-based option.

These particular sandwiches made it into the lineup after much research and analysis of customer needs, said Aaron Noveshen, founder and CEO of Starbird.

“We embarked on an extensive survey, exploring over 10 different sandwich builds, to identify the key elements that would truly elevate our offerings. Drawing upon our rich history of culinary innovation with the backing of The Culinary Edge, which I also founded, we carefully narrowed down our selection to five exceptional core sandwiches,” he said in an email. “Some of these are enhanced versions of our existing builds, while others are entirely new creations that showcase our unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of flavor.”

The team also optimized operational efficiencies to ensure that the new builds didn’t slow down service. Starbird prioritizes speed and convenience along with culinary innovation.

“The reinvention of our sandwich lineup was driven by the changing dynamics of the competitive chicken sandwich landscape,” said Noveshen. “While we were honored to have won the prestigious title of ‘Best Chicken Sandwich’ in the Bay Area by San Jose Mercury News in 2019, we knew that we had the potential to surpass our previous triumphs.”  

“We also recognized the importance of presentation, which led us to enhance the packaging of our sandwiches,” he added. “By meticulously designing our packaging, we sought to ensure that the visual experience matched the exceptional quality within.” 

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