With Chinese New Year just a month away, Panda Express is starting the celebrations early with its new '8 Treasure Chicken Breast' dish. Not only does the new entree mark the start of the Chinese new year, but it also serves as a 'better-for-you' option for those who are looking to eat healthier in the year ahead.
The 8 Treasure Chicken Breast dish is a tasty stir-fry made from strips of chicken breast, diced Chinese sausage, celery, red and green peppers, and fermented black beans. The dish also features whole dry chili peppers, which have been tossed in a "rich, spicy, and savory" sauce. According to the chain, the dish draws inspiration from both the Sichuan and Shanghai regions of China, but with a distinct American twist.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Healthier Asian Cuisine
- The '8 Treasure Chicken Breast' dish is marketed as a 'better-for-you' option, which highlights an opportunity for more health-conscious Asian cuisine.
- Fusion Stir-fry
- The '8 Treasure Chicken Breast' dish combines traditional Chinese flavors with an American twist, providing an opportunity to explore more fusion stir-fry dishes.
- Celebratory Cuisine
- The release of the '8 Treasure Chicken Breast' dish marks the start of Chinese New Year celebrations, which presents an opportunity for more celebratory cuisine dishes to be created.
Where This Applies
- Restaurant
- Restaurants could create healthier Asian cuisine options, customized stir-fry dishes, or celebratory cuisine dishes for the Chinese New Year celebration.
- Food Retail
- Food retail businesses could market and sell healthier Asian cuisine meal kits, or create celebratory food products for New Year festivals, appealing to the target audience of health-conscious individuals.
- Food Industry
- Food industry businesses could explore creating healthier and fusion Asian cuisine options, marketing them as celebratory dishes or meal kits, to cater to the demand of health-conscious and culturally curious consumers.
