Name: Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Back For Round Two
Uploaded: 2019-11-03
Duration: 5 min 38 s
Description: Here's the story behind the viral menu item that sold out within two weeks but turned into a big win for the company.

By now I'm sure you heard of it. This is the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Okay. Popeye's fried chicken sandwich. Popeye's chicken sandwich. Wow. Popeye's chicken sandwich, it hit Popeye's menu on Agoust 12th and within 2 weeks the sandwich was completely sold out. Never seen nothing done like this. [ UNKNOWN ] took it away. I've never seen people line around block for a new item at a fast food restaurant, never. [ MUSIC ] Here's the story. Popeye's came out with a fried chicken sandwich, regular mayonnaise and a spicy mayonaise version. And they tweeted about it. And then a comparative war broke out with Chic- fil- A's version and there were a lot of celebrities that weighed in. Gayle King was seen eating it, musicians, rappers, etc. Everyone wanted to try the sandwich and wanted to express their opinion and get their favorite. That's why I think it went viral and that's why Everyone really got excited about our chicken sandwich. So for many years our guests have been asking us for a chicken sandwich at Popeyes and we took the challenge. It was always supposed to have been a permanent addition to the menu, unforntuately we were caught by surprise We had to pull for a little while but now we're ready to make a comeback. The fast food chain says it had to stop selling the sandwich just two weeks after its August debut. But Popeye's says the sandwich Is here to stay. I don't understand why they so Miss guest. There's something called concept testing where you test the idea and then product testing where you test. Does it live up to the concept and I think in this case, it was met or exceeded people's expectations which were pretty high. But if their suppliers were capacity constrained. They should've had a backup plan in case they exceeded expectations. We literally ran out of the chicken filet. It was literally the chicken so I mean, we would've had enough supply of mayo or pickles or the buns but But we literally ran out of the chicken fillets. The fact that they ran out of it indicated that they couldn't keep up with demand, which is always a very good sign. But why did it take two months for the return? Well, It took too much because we can't just go down the street and get the ingredients. They were created specifically for this program. And we needed time to go back and work with our partners to help them produce these products and ramp back up. So that's [ UNKNOWN ] still a very special kind. We're very specific about where it comes and where it gets cut out of the chicken breast. So, it wasn't something that you could just replicate very quickly and you got to keep in mind we sold in 2 weeks what we thought would last 2 months. It's like. Let's take the time and do it right. They know that they need to supply demand much higher than originally forecasted, so the choice was do you have people going to the store and being dissapointed because you've run out or do you wait until you have enough and then have a big big national launch? I think they did the right thing. The other alternative that they could have done was to have a limited amount in one market. But overall, I totally think they did the right thing. Now, let's break down the sandwich itself. Why do people think it's so great? Who's idea was this? The pickle on this sandwich, like who made this bread? You know what? You can't have a really good sandwich without incredible bread. So we landed on an artisan style brioche bun. And then I was very adamant that we were gonna Butter the vine, we use the same buttery topping that goes on our biscuits. So we already know people absolutely get crazy over that flavor. So we worked with a group [ UNKNOWN ] to come up with this fresh pickle. It's [ UNKNOWN ] cured, it's just a very simple brine But it makes all the difference in the world that it is a fresh product and not a shelf stable. It's only four ingredients, but they are literally the best four ingredients we could get our hands on. Look at the meat! This is the greatest chicken sandhwich Of all time. And turns out, running out of chicken wasn't a total disaster. One of the greatest things that happened with the entire sandwich launch was that all the demand that we had driven by the sandwich and driven by our entire menu overall Led Popeye's to one of its best quarters in about 20 years. I overall think it's a massive win. First of all, they had a sandwich which everybody loved, and you can't get any better than this. Great product, great visual comparison to competition. A lot of pent- up demand. A lot of people who love it, and are very vocal about it. So and low relatively, low class marketing and it all starts with having a great product because if they didn't have a great product that looks really good, this wouldn't be the case. This chicken sounds releases endorphins in my body. It is the perfect amount of spice. We missed the chicken sandwich. I can't wait to taste the deliciousness of the chicken sandwich again. I am in New York right now, but when I get back I'm going to Popeye's. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Is Back For Round Two

Entertainment

Here's the story behind the viral menu item that sold out within two weeks but turned into a big win for the company.