Fried chicken has become one of the most crowded spaces in fast food. Many chains claim to offer homemade or hand-breaded chicken, but some that say they do may not be telling the entire truth.
The challenge is that there’s no real legal standard for words like homemade, hand-breaded, and fresh-made. Many chains, for example, will hand-bread their chicken and par-cook it to finish later. Others will fully cook the chicken, then re-dunk it in oil in order to heat it up.
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In both cases, the product is arguably homemade or hand-breaded, but it’s also been sitting around all day (hopefully under proper conditions).
Many restaurants make claims that are legally defensible, but also a little dubious. There is a lot of gray area around words, and while there may be no intent to mislead, there’s a lot of room for interpretation.
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A new lawsuit, however, suggests that one chicken chain with locations all across the country has been stretching the truth.
The claims in the lawsuit are very bold, and the company involved fully intends to fight them.
Slim Chickens has been growing
While Slim Chickens may not be the top brand in fast-food fried chicken, it has locations in over 30 states. The company explains the brand to potential franchisees on its website.
“Our culture is the soul of our brand. Slims is known for having the right combination of craveable food, a cool vibe, and that extra touch of Southern hospitality. We’ve capitalized on that combination by developing a culture whose foundation is making a difference in our customers’ lives and the communities we’ve grown into. And now, we’re looking for the right people to help us bring our tradition of quality and giving to your market,” the company shared on its franchise page.
“Slim Chickens is more than a quick meal. Guests can always expect buttermilk marinated, hand-breaded chicken tenders and wings cooked to order and served with house dipping sauces,” it added.
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The chain has more than 245 locations and a fanatical following in the U.S. and internationally.
It’s a self-described “eternally cool brand” that “is an emerging national franchise leading the ‘better chicken’ segment and intends to grow nationally with a footprint of 1,000 restaurants over the next decade,” it posted.
The lawsuit alleges, however, that many of the company’s claims are not true.
Lawsuit makes serious Slim Chickens claims
The 140-page lawsuit, filed by R-Solution Companies, alleges that Slim Chickens has inflated data and is falsely advertising “fresh” and “house-made” food.
“The company accuses Slim Chickens of deception, stating that the company ‘advertises certain dipping sauces as house-made,’ when they are predominantly manufactured and distributed by third-party suppliers. Similarly, Defendant promotes its food products as ‘fresh,’ despite the fact that the chicken supplied to franchises under its preferred vendor arrangements arrives frozen,” KNWA reported.
In addition, the lawsuit claims that most of the chain’s sauces (15 out of 17) are not made fresh. Instead, they are produced by a third-party vendor and shipped prepackaged to all franchise locations with no on-site preparation.
The lawsuit also charges that using frozen chicken actually leads to “higher product costs and quality issues, including smaller tenders, increased customer complaints, and more unusable waste.”
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Slim Chickens refutes the allegations in the lawsuit.
“The company states it has invested more than $15 million in Slim Chickens and has helped expand the company to other states, including Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky. However, the lawsuit states that the amount of money wouldn’t have been invested if the company had been truthful,” according to KNWA.
The lawsuit also makes the claim that Slim Chickens claims “35% Year-Over-Year Sales Growth,” while actual system-wide average gross sales declined from 2023 to 2024.
