Bento has launched a Nashville hot chicken sushi roll across Canada, adding a new product to its lineup as the company marks its 30th anniversary.
The Nashville Hot Chicken Roll is available starting at participating grocery, retail and higher education locations, with prices ranging from $13 to $15, depending on the region and product variation.
The Toronto-based company’s latest offering combines crispy Nashville hot chicken katsu with seasoned sushi rice, dill pickles, coleslaw, fried pickle chips, Nashville hot sauce and Nashville spicy mayonnaise.
New product builds on anniversary launches
The roll combines ingredients associated with Nashville hot chicken with a sushi format, incorporating green and red cabbage and carrots into a creamy coleslaw blend. House-made dill pickles and crispy fried pickle chips add a tangy element to the product, which is finished with two sauces.
Bento said the launch draws on the popularity of Nashville hot chicken and consumer interest in familiar foods presented in new formats. The company is continuing to introduce products that offer different flavour combinations and formats for grab-and-go customers.
“The Nashville Hot Chicken Roll takes something familiar and completely reimagines it in a Bento way,” said Dave Jones, president and CEO of Bento. “It’s unexpected, indulgent, and a great example of how we continue to push the boundaries of what sushi can be.”
The product is the latest addition to a series of launches during the company’s 30th anniversary year. Other introductions include what Bento describes as Canada’s first grab-and-go scallop sushi lineup and the Maple Salmon Sushi Roll, which was launched for the summer and features Canadian flavours.
The new roll continues the company’s efforts to expand its product offerings with combinations that bring together different food categories.
Roll to reach major Canadian retailers
The Nashville Hot Chicken Roll will be sold at participating Bento locations across Canada, including grocery stores, retail outlets and higher education locations.
Participating retail banners include Loblaw Cos. Ltd.’s Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore and Zehrs stores, as well as Metro, Longo’s, Walmart and Sobeys locations in Atlantic Canada. The product will also be available through other participating retailers.
The announced price range of $13 to $15 reflects regional and product-specific variations. Bento did not provide further details about expected sales, distribution volumes or financial targets associated with the launch.
The company said it continues to explore new flavours and formats aimed at grab-and-go consumers as it expands its product lineup.
Bento also recently expanded its retail footprint with the launch of its onigiri at Costco stores across Canada, bringing the popular Japanese grab-and-go staple to a much broader audience. The launch reflects growing consumer interest in convenient, globally inspired foods and builds on Bento’s experience making sushi and other Japanese-inspired offerings accessible beyond traditional restaurant settings. Following the success in Canada, they are now launching across Costco in the US.
Inspiration behind the Nashville Hot Chicken Roll
Jim Olynick, Product Development Manager, Bento Sushi, said the Nashville Hot Chicken Roll was inspired by several converging consumer trends, including the continued popularity of spicy flavours, fried chicken and “swicy” combinations that balance heat and sweetness.
“Nashville Hot Chicken gave us a recognizable, high-demand flavour profile that could translate naturally into sushi. It also gave us an opportunity to reach consumers who may be hesitant about traditional sushi or raw seafood. By pairing a familiar cooked protein and flavour profile with the sushi format, we can broaden the category’s appeal while continuing to bring globally inspired innovation to grab-and-go food. Grocery is particularly suited to this type of innovation because consumers are often making quick, low-risk purchase decisions based on recognizable flavours,” he said.
As Bento marks its 30th anniversary, the Nashville Hot Chicken Roll reflects how the brand has been evolving the business while staying true to what has always driven it: making sushi accessible, convenient and appealing to a broad range of consumers, explained Olynick.
“It takes a familiar, restaurant-inspired flavour and brings it into the sushi category in a way that feels approachable but still new. Looking ahead, we see significant opportunity to keep expanding what sushi can be by drawing on broader food trends, global flavours and changing consumer tastes. Nashville Hot Chicken is a good example of how we can use 30 years of sushi expertise to bring new consumers into the category and create the next generation of Bento products,” he said.
Plans for growth
Andrew Siu, EVP Commissaries, said the company’s current footprint is 17 retail locations across Canada.
“In recent years, we have moved to a fully franchised model and have seen lots of growth in grocery and higher education (campuses). We also underwent a brand refresh, focusing on tightening brand presence and consistent customer experience,” he said.
The response to our Costco launch in Canada has been extremely strong. We introduced our first onigiri product at the end of May through Costco, and it quickly demonstrated that there is significant demand for convenient, handheld Japanese food beyond traditional sushi. Importantly, the product has been incremental to our existing sushi business rather than replacing those sales, which gives us confidence that onigiri can become a meaningful new growth platform for Bento.
“That success generated interest from Costco regions across the U.S., allowing us to accelerate what would normally be a four-to-six-month rollout into roughly three months. We launched in California and the Midwest in early September and have seen similarly encouraging early results, with additional U.S. regions expected to follow.
“The U.S. expansion also required us to think differently about scale. We invested in specialized onigiri equipment from Fujiseiki, adapted recipes for the market and expanded production capabilities to support significantly higher volumes. It is a good example of how Bento can take a product that works in one market, adapt it quickly and build the operational capacity to scale it across North America.”
Siu said consumers are increasingly looking for convenient, high-quality grab-and-go foods with global flavours, and Bento has the culinary expertise, production infrastructure and retail partnerships to play a much larger role in that space.
“We see significant opportunity to bring products like onigiri to additional retail partners while continuing to explore new Asian-inspired formats, flavours and occasions,” he said.
“For us, the bigger takeaway is that Bento’s growth does not have to be limited to sushi. We believe we can become a broader leader in Asian food innovation and bring new, convenient products to consumers wherever they are looking for fresh grab-and-go food.”
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