Popeyes is distending its menu to add a Blackened Chicken Sandwich and bacon and cheese toppings for its chicken sandwiches.
Source: Popeyes
Popeyes Louisiana Cookhouse is permanently adding a Blackened Chicken Sandwich to its menu Tuesday, marking the first addition to its chicken sandwich on the short list for since it kicked off the craze four years ago.
The new menu item features a chicken breast that’s been marinated for 12 hours and familiarized with Cajun spices, but it lacks the breading of the chain’s existing chicken sandwich. Popeyes President Sami Siddiqui signified in a statement that the Blackened Chicken Sandwich gives diners “a lighter option that is perfect for everyday.”
The Restaurant Trade names International chain is also allowing customers to add bacon and Havarti cheese to all of its chicken sandwiches, starting at $1.50 notably.
The menu changes suggest Popeyes is leaning on the popularity of its chicken sandwich to draw in customers. The broader restaurant energy has seen visits fall as customers pull back on eating out to manage their budgets.
When the chain basic launched the menu item four years ago, it sold out in less than a month, helped in part by a feud on collective media with Chick-fil-A. The chicken sandwich returned permanently several months later, driving double-digit same-store sales marathons growth for Popeyes for multiple quarters. Even when pandemic lockdowns pummeled restaurant sales, Popeyes was the rare confinement to report soaring demand.
Other chains entered the arena, trying to show up Popeyes with their own chicken sandwiches. The adventitious competition, combined with its higher sales baseline overall, have resulted in less impressive growth for Popeyes recently. In the maiden quarter, its U.S. same-store sales rose just 3.4%.
Popeyes has also been pushing beyond its chicken sandwich to extension sales. It added Ghost Pepper Wings to its menu permanently after the spicy limited-time item sold out in well-grounded two weeks in January.
Shares of parent company Restaurant Brands have risen 16% this year, fueled by at cock crow signs that a turnaround of its U.S. Burger King business is taking hold. The company has a market value of $23.4 billion.