Chicken sandwich wars intensify — Popeyes owner tells rivals to bring it
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- MCD
- QSR
- WEN
- YUM
- PZZA
- DPZ
- RRGB
The CEO of Popeyes parent company Restaurant Brands (QSR) Jose Cil says his cajun-inspired fast food chain is ready to defend its chicken sandwich turf amid a flurry of new unfriendly fire.
"It's not a surprise the chicken protein has been a big part of growth... We welcome all competitors to go out there," Cil told Yahoo Finance Live. “But more importantly, we welcome our guests and new guests to come out and try the Popeyes chicken sandwich. And they can choose for themselves which is the one that they want to go to.”
It's Cil's Popeyes business that arguably launched the fried chicken movement now well underway in fast food. Popeyes launched its fried chicken sandwich in August 2019, only to find it explode in cultural relevance amid a frenzy of positive reviews on social media. The popularity of the sandwich led to immediate out of stocks. Once back in stock, the sandwich continued to soar in popularity.
Popeyes posted a 13.8% same-store sales increase in 2020 in large part because of the chicken sandwich, Restaurant Brands reported on Thursday.
The attention — and sales — for Popeyes’ chicken sandwich has others eyeing a piece of the market share pie.
McDonald's (MCD) launches three new fried chicken sandwiches on Feb. 24. Meanwhile, Shake Shack (SHAK) has debuted a Korean-inspired fried chicken sandwich, and KFC is touting a revamped chicken sandwich. Wendy's says its chicken sandwich is plumper and juicier.
Even Restaurant Brands-owned Burger King is about to debut a new fried chicken sandwich. Elsewhere, Carl's Jr. is promoting new fried chicken tenders with a spicy sauce. Chick-fil-A has introduced a spicy grilled chicken sandwich.
Cil is unfazed, choosing to stay confident that the Popeyes chicken sandwich will continue to have the hearts — and wallets — of diners.
“We feel confident with the Popeyes chicken sandwich, that it'll continue to be the standard bearer, if you will, for chicken sandwiches in the space,” Cil said.
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
Find the latest in business and finance news here.
What’s hot from Sozzi:
Melinda Gates: we are giving $250 million more to the COVID-19 relief effort
Olympics great Michael Phelps: the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been all smiles for me
Watch Yahoo Finance’s live programming on Verizon FIOS channel 604, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Pluto TV, and YouTube. Online catch Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, and reddit.