Super Bowl Viewers Would Rather Die Than Eat Boneless Wings
Instacart just published its second annual Snacktime Report, and America's wing preferences are clear.
God, I love an excuse to eat a taquito. Or a Dorito. Or a garlic-parmesan chicken wing. Basically, any food that can be consumed in front of a flat-screen television while I watch large men run into each other. In theory, all foods can be consumed in front of a flat-screen television—but some foods are spiritually Football Foods. Turns out, Americans have strong feelings about football foods—especially wings—as reported by Instacart's second annual Snacktime Report on Super Bowl food and drinks.
As always, a disclaimer to take branded reports like this one with a grain of salt. This particular survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Instacart; 2,089 adults participated, so I'll leave it up to you to decide if this data is truly representative of American football fans. Still, I'm a sucker for a fun graphic, and this thing's full of 'em.
Chicken wings across America
Per the report, approximately one in 25 Instacart customers purchased chicken wings for the 2021 Super Bowl. Instacart also asked customers about their wing preferences and found that:
- 33% of respondents prefer fried wings over baked wings, with 39% preferring a mix of both
- 44% choose drumsticks over flats
- 28% of respondents go for sauced over seasoned, with 48% preferring a mix of both
The report also included a roundup of wing purchases by state, pictured above. Maryland appears to have purchased the most wings, with North Dakota coming in last place. That being said, the Instacart data likely has very little bearing on actual consumer chicken wing consumption. Not every wing fan is purchasing wings via Instacart, after all.
Perhaps most notably, the report says that "65% of those who plan to watch the Big Game strongly or somewhat agree that boneless chicken wings are glorified chicken nuggets." That's certainly a strong statement, although I don't know that "glorified chicken nuggets" is a derogatory classification. Nuggets rock.
Chips, dips, and beer at the Super Bowl
The report also assessed other Super Bowl snacking habits. For example, Instacart found that salsa, queso, and guacamole top the list for favorite Super Bowl dips. The report also assessed Instacart customers' top 10 alcohol categories, with various types of beer taking 8 out of the top 10 spots.
If you're curious about the rest of the data, you can check out the full Snacktime Report here. In the meantime, I'll be eating my boneless wings with pride.