In the Q3 investors call, McDonald's announced that a new crispy chicken sandwich will be launched early in 2021. This menu item was tested in Houston, TX and Knoxville, TN over a year ago with success. McDonald's franchisees are urging rapid deployment of the 
sandwich to compete with Chic-fil-A and Popeye’s.
The emergence of coronavirus was cited by McDonald's for the delay but this does not appear to be credible. Inability to execute and deploy a chicken sandwich indicates corporate sclerosis in adapting menus and making available a product in demand. It is noted that McDonald's operations in the EU have adopted chicken sandwiches based on health and the high cost of beef together with a negative image for sustainability associated with conventional burgers.
McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger commented that the crispy chicken sandwich is meant to make consumers "start looking at us differently as the chain tries to become known for both burgers and chicken". This represents a major shift in the culture of McDonald's that has its roots in 15-cent generic hamburgers. The company seems to have had a blind spot regarding the growth and profitability of Chic-fil-A and the inroads made by competitors with their versions of a deluxe chicken sandwich.