Two limited-time items are landing on Zaxby's menus this holiday season: a Honey Chipotle Sauce and a Peppermint Cookies & Cream Shake, available chainwide from November 2 through January 18. The additions represent the Atlanta-based chain's bid to capture holiday-season traffic through flavor novelty and a loyalty-gated early-access window.
The New Items
The Honey Chipotle Sauce is built around honey, brown sugar, red chili, and chipotle peppers, designed to pair with Zaxby's Chicken Fingerz™ and wings. The Peppermint Cookies & Cream Shake is a hand-spun peppermint-flavored milkshake topped with cookies-and-cream pieces. Both items arrive as the QSR chicken segment continues to lean hard into LTO velocity as a primary traffic driver heading into the traditionally competitive Q4 period.
Loyalty Early Access
Zax Rewardz members get first crack at the Honey Chipotle Sauce beginning October 26—a full week before the general launch—accessible exclusively through the Zaxby's app, Zaxbys.com, and third-party delivery. The move follows a broader restaurant loyalty program trend in which chains use early access and digital exclusives to drive app downloads and deepen member engagement ahead of peak seasonal periods.
"For us, Sauce the Hallz is about bringing bold flavor and a little extra personality to the holiday season," said Patrick Schwing, Zaxby's Chief Marketing Officer. "We're inviting guests to add their own sauce to their favorite holiday traditions, and our holiday menu is just the beginning."
The chain is also dressing its Zax Packz group meals in festive holiday packaging, positioning the format as a catering-adjacent option for holiday gatherings—a tactical play that aligns with the broader holiday group-dining push across foodservice operators have prioritized in recent years.
Operator Context
Founded in 1990, Zaxby's operates more than 1,000 locations across 24 states. The chain was recognized as Transformational Brand of the Year by QSR Magazine in 2025. The two-item holiday drop, timed to run nearly three months, gives operators a longer sales window than a typical short-run LTO while still preserving the urgency of a time-limited offering—a balance that Food & Beverage Magazine has noted as a growing best practice among QSR brands navigating post-pandemic menu complexity.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
