In a fascinating story by QSR magazine this month, the eye-popping numbers behind the current chicken sandwich frenzy are laid bare. If you ever wondered why every single restaurant was jumping on this bandwagon right now, the answer is simple – sales. So. Many. Sales.
In the QSR story, Popeyes CEO Jose Cil writes that sales for the average Popeyes location jumped from $1.4 million per year to $1.8 million – the difference – their wildly popular chicken sandwich that lit up social media on its release.
Speaking of which, the story also notes that Popeyes’ social media posts around the release clocked up an insane 20 billion impressions – worth a reputed $220 million in free media. The brand also doubled its Twitter follower base by the end of 2019. That all adds up to the competition sitting up and taking notice.
This year alone we’ve seen the likes of Shake Shack and KFC release new options with pretty much everyone else either already here, or coming soon. Coming down the road next -McDonalds are set to launch a trio of new sandwiches this month with BK to follow later. We’ve also heard rumors Taco Bell is going to be getting in on the action soon too.
Watch this space, we’ll bring you all the updates and the reviews as soon as we get our hands on the new and the sandwiches themselves. And remember, we recap all the entrants in the Chicken Sandwich Wars here.
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic Salt Lake City, and a former freelance restaurant critic. I’ve worked extensively with local, regional and national food and drink organizations. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have been writing about food and drink for more than fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I don’t mind admitting to a certain secret obsession with fast food as well – and that’s where Menu And Price comes in…