The Popular Frozen Chicken Brands Behind Wawa's Menu Staples

Although many look at Wawa and see a fancy gas station or glorified convenience store, real fans know there's a lot more going on here. This includes the chain's popular and delicious custom-made sandwiches and hot food. One of Wawa's secrets is that its premade food often quietly leans on the quality of big-name brands. When it comes to chicken, Wawa relies on two industry stalwarts: Tyson and Perdue. 

More specifically, the chain's breaded chicken strips are sourced from Perdue, while the crispy chicken patties come from rival Tyson. The latter are used in both regular and spicy varieties as Wawa's entrant into the fast-food chicken sandwich war, while the former are served on their own in multiples of three and five.

The reasons behind the sourcing are fairly obvious. By partnering with established brands, Wawa not only avoids the need to set up its own supply chain and production facilities, but also ensures customers get a consistent level of quality from a familiar product. Meanwhile, the brands themselves get a consistent, high-volume commercial customer to complement their sales to everyday grocery shoppers.

It's not clear how long this arrangement has been in place. However, customers on Reddit have noted their belief that Wawa once sold tenders also supplied by Tyson, pointing to differences in appearance and quality. There's no doubt these two chicken suppliers are heavy-hitters in their industry. Tyson is the world's second-largest chicken producer, with Perdue sitting as one of the largest in the United States.

As you might expect, these aren't the only big-name brands hiding in plain sight at Wawa. For example, the chain's mac and cheese is supplied by frozen-food giant Stouffer's. If that Wawa soup seemed awfully familiar, that's because it's supplied by Campbell's, the world's largest soup company. Nor is Wawa alone in serving Tyson chicken; the huge company provides chicken to many fast food chains, while Perdue operates its own commercial food service business.

Regardless of where the chicken strips and sandwiches fall on your personal ranking of Wawa dinner items, there's one thing all hungry customers can be sure of: the high-quality source of the chain's chicken from industry titans Tyson and Perdue.