3,000 Sweepstakes Winners Will Receive Free Food for a Year
- Chick-fil-A celebrates 80 years by launching its “Newstalgia” campaign, which includes the launch of new beverages and a sweepstakes giving away a year of entrees to 3,000 people.
- The beverages have already debuted as part of the Chick-fil-A Newstalgia fun – frosted sodas and floats in a wide range of base flavors.
- The Eat Mor Chikin cows also star in a new calendar, and Cow Appreciation Day will return.
- Although best-known for its fried-chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A – like other fast-food brands – regularly tweaks its menu. Today’s guests can order, for instance, fresh fruits, salads and an array of breakfast items.
With Chick-fil-A® reaching the ripe old age of 80 in 2026, the franchise has kicked off its yearlong “Newstalgia” campaign. Headlining the fun is a sweepstakes giving 3,000 guests a year of free food. And – to put the “new” in Chick-fil-A Newstalgia – the franchise also has rolled out new beverages and four retro-inspired Classic Cup designs.
The cups, selling for $3.99, are generically wrapped to hide whether they are non-winning cups or Golden Fan Cups, which contain cards awarding free food for a year, a Chick-fil-A news release explains. Winning customers will find the cards inside their cups.
The Golden Fan Cup cards have instructions and a QR code to use in claiming the prize of 52 entrées, the winners’ choice of an Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich, a Spicy Chicken Sandwich, a Grilled Chicken Sandwich or eight original or grilled Chick-fil-A Nuggets. The yearlong entrée giveaway is also available via mail-in entry, no purchase necessary, under the sweepstakes’ official rules. The Golden Fan Cup giveaway will run through July 1.
New Cold Beverages
As of Monday, Chick-fil-A added new beverages to its food lineup: frosted sodas and floats enhanced with the franchise’s classic Icedream® dessert. Core flavors for the floats and sodas include Coke, Dr Pepper, Sprite, Fanta, Powerade, Hi-C and Barq’s Root Beer.
Khalilah Cooper, vice president of brand strategy, advertising and media, told Nation’s Restaurant News that customers have long been requesting floats and sodas. The new beverages can be paired with Chick-fil-A’s Original Chicken Sandwich Meal that’s currently dressed up with packaging graphics from the Chick-fil-A archives.
Past, Present and Future
“It’s a celebration of the memories, meals and meaningful moments that have brought people together at Chick-fil-A for generations,” Cooper said in a company news release. “We’re inviting guests – old and new – to join us in celebrating our heritage, while looking ahead to the future with us.” Chick-fil-A Newstalgia strongly leans into the past, weaving company history in with the founding family’s memories, Cooper told Nation’s Restaurant News.
Chick-fil-A’s heritage does indeed date back eight decades, to May 23, 1946, when S. Truett Cathy opened The Dwarf Grill, a diner in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville, Ga. At that humble restaurant, Cathy perfected his fried-chicken fillet sandwich.
But to be fair, that original year may deserve an asterisk, Inc. magazine notes, because the Chick-fil-A branding itself was born in 1967 with the opening of a restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall. NRN.com credits that location with laying the foundation for “what is now one of the most recognizable brands in the world, with more than 3,000 locations, industry-leading average unit volumes, consistently high customer satisfaction scores, and a growing international presence.” (Historic note: the Greenbriar Mall location closed in 2023, CBS News points out – but 56 years nevertheless constitutes a long run.)
Other Ways Chick-fil-A Celebrates 80 Years
Chick-fil-A Newstalgia doesn’t overlook its black-and-white spotted-cow marketing stars, of course. Chick-fil-A plans to revive Cow Appreciation Day, NRN.com stated, with full details to come. During the original Cow Appreciation Day, customers wearing cow outfits received free food. “We’re really looking forward to bringing it back as a way to surprise and delight customers,” NRN quoted Cooper as saying. “People need more of that — a place to feel joy and connection and delight.” The spotted cows hail from the Eat Mor Chikin advertising initiative that premiered in 1995.
NRN.com reported that Chick-fil-A also is bringing back its popular Cow Calendar, which was retired at the end of 2018 after about 20 years. The new version contains digital integration with the franchise’s loyalty program to offer rewards every month, Cooper said.
Changing with the Times
Although the brand is best-known for its chicken breast fillet sandwiches, Chick-fil-A regularly refreshes its menus as is the norm for fast-food brands. (TheDailyMeal.com compiled a detailed list of foods introduced in 2025 by prominent restaurant brands, among them Chick-fil-A and McDonalds.)
Decades of menu innovations – with Chick-fil-A Newstalgia’s frosted sodas and floats only the latest – have occurred. The first breakfasts dawned in 1986, and now the morning menu offers biscuits filled with sausage, fried chicken, bacon, eggs and cheese; burritos; hash browns; and a berry parfait. On the all-day menu – along with chicken nuggets, strips and sandwiches – are fresh fruit, side salads, Icedream cups and cones, milkshakes, cookies, and brownies.
The brand’s food-quality focus has been a major factor sustaining Chick-fil-A Inc.’s steady growth and popularity. As Chick-fil-A celebrates 80 years, it lays claim to being the third largest fast-food company in the United States. Also according to the news release, its local owner-operators employ more than 200,000 team members in 3,000-plus restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Puerto Rico and Singapore.
Photos: Chick-fil-A
