Chicken Salad Chick is giving Rewards members a free scoop of chicken salad as it launches an annual holiday built around its signature product. The offer arrives Thursday, July 16, for the first National Chicken Salad Day, a celebration the fast-casual chain says it will hold on the third Thursday of July each year.

The promotion is straightforward, but there is one important step: customers must use the Chicken Salad Chick app. Existing Rewards members can claim an offer for one free scoop of any chicken salad flavor on July 16. New customers can download the app and create a free Rewards account before the offer appears.

How the free-scoop offer works

The offer must be claimed in the app on July 16, but it does not have to be eaten that day. Chicken Salad Chick says customers will have up to 30 days to redeem it. That extra window should reduce the one-day rush while giving the brand more time to turn newly enrolled app users into repeat customers.

Guests who visit a restaurant on July 16 can also pick up a commemorative sticker while supplies last. The company plans giveaways on Facebook and Instagram throughout the week, including a chance to win free chicken salad for a year.

Customers should check the app and their nearest restaurant before making a special trip. The free scoop is tied to the Rewards program, and stickers and other promotional items are limited by availability.

Why this is more than a food freebie

Calling the event a national day gives Chicken Salad Chick a recurring piece of marketing territory that competitors cannot easily copy. The promotion is closely tied to the chain's name, menu and origin story, while the app requirement helps the company add customers to a channel it can use for future offers.

The brand is also inviting guests to fill out in-store “declaration cards” naming a favorite flavor or share their picks online. It is a small participation mechanic, but it reinforces one of the chain's defining ideas: chicken salad is not a single recipe.

The menu includes more than a dozen versions, from the original Classic Carol—shredded chicken, celery, mayonnaise and seasoning—to combinations with fruit, nuts, bacon, ranch, Buffalo sauce or jalapeños. The names are part of the branding. Chicken Salad Chick says many honor real people who influenced co-founder Stacy Brown.

From an Auburn kitchen to a regional chain

Stacy and Kevin Brown founded Chicken Salad Chick in Auburn, Alabama, in 2008. The business grew from Stacy Brown selling homemade chicken salad to friends, teachers and local customers. After health officials told her that food prepared at home could not be sold commercially, the founders moved the operation into a restaurant.

The concept found a niche by treating a familiar Southern lunch staple as a customizable fast-casual category. It began franchising in 2012 and has since expanded well beyond Auburn. The company now reports more than 330 restaurants across roughly two dozen states, with a menu that also includes sandwiches, soups, sides, pimento cheese and desserts.

That growth makes the July 16 event more notable than a local giveaway. Chicken Salad Chick is using a free serving of the product that started the company to introduce new customers to its flavor system, enroll more people in Rewards and establish a branded date that can return every summer.

What to check before you go

  • Claim date: Thursday, July 16, 2026.
  • Who qualifies: Chicken Salad Chick Rewards members, including new members who join free.
  • What is included: One scoop of any chicken salad flavor.
  • Redemption window: Up to 30 days after the offer is claimed.
  • Extras: In-store stickers while supplies last and separate social-media giveaways.

The bottom line: this is an easy freebie for people near one of the chain's restaurants, but the more interesting story is the promotion itself. Chicken Salad Chick is turning the dish that defined its beginnings into an annual customer-acquisition event—one scoop, one app download and one declared favorite at a time.