Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen added a new entry to the chicken sandwich war with the launch of the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich.
“Two years ago, our Chicken Sandwich reintroduced the world to our chicken mastery, and we have not stopped innovating since. We have a lot of fun experimenting with new flavors in our test kitchen, and this Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich is one I’m especially excited to bring to our guests,” said Sami Siddiqui, President of Popeyes North America.
The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich features an all-new sauce, creamy buttermilk ranch combined with buffalo. The flavor profile is designed to complement the brand’s hand battered and breaded chicken served on a buttery brioche bun with barrel cured pickles.
The sandwich, which retails for $4.99, will be available at participating locations nationwide for a limited time.
Will chicken success continue?
Following an initial product launch in 2019, the Popeyes chicken sandwich propelled the quick service brand – and fried chicken sandwiches – to viral success.
Sales soared for Popeyes – increasing by more than 34% during the third quarter of 2019 after the sandwich relaunched. Ultimately, however, everyone in the chicken sandwich market benefited.
The brand’s quick service competitors worked quickly to develop their own chicken offerings, with 95 new chicken sandwiches entering the market between January and June 2021. Notably, McDonald’s added the crispy chicken sandwich to menus, which helped boost consolidated revenue 57% for the brand in 2021 compared to the year before.
U.S. same store sales for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen declined 2% in 2021 due to the success of new chicken sandwiches from foodservice competitors, Restaurant Brands International, the quick service chain’s parent company, said in a fourth quarter and 2021 yearly earnings call.
“The key for Popeyes in the U.S. will be to continue to deliver the great-tasting products that we have and do so in a really efficient way in our restaurants,” Jose Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, told analysts on the call.
