NORFOLK, Va. — A senior at Old Dominion University is celebrating after her idea to create chicken nuggets based on a viral trend was picked up by Perdue.
Leah Hallwirth tells News 3 she was taking a new class as part of her Marketing minor last fall when a representative from Perdue chicken came in with a request.
"'We want you to come up with a new chicken nugget shape,'" Hallwirth recalls him saying.
The Chesapeake native says her mom is a teacher and her students were still talking about the '6 7' TikTok trend that went viral last year.
She condensed an idea to create number-shaped nuggets into just the numbers 6 and 7.
"What they said is that the day I did my presentation, they were already on the phone trying to figure out how to get [the nuggets]," said Hallwirth. "It was the fastest they have developed a chicken nugget before."
Fast forward to April and Hallwirth's professor and Perdue representatives surprised her with a case of the new '6 7' limited edition nuggets. She was also given a check for $5,000.
"It's almost unbelievable," Hallwirth says.
The nuggets are currently being sold in stores across the country, including more than 3,000 Walmart locations.
As for Hallwirth, she's graduating from ODU with a strategic communications major and her marketing minor on Saturday, May 16. She's interviewing for jobs, but adds that the last several months may have her adjusting her original plans.
"Seeing it come true has definitely changed how I'm thinking," said Hallwirth.
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