QSR May 2022

LEADERSHI P PROF I LE

taurants with a drive-thru—a point that would have slammed the door shut before. Now, however, Popeyes has a digital-only concept with kiosks and no registers, and delivery, mobile order and pay at the ready. And in March, the chain reopened its historical Canal Street store in New Orleans, which marked the first unit in the U.S. built with a modernized layout inside and out, including self-order kiosks, order-ready boards, and dedicated areas for digital order pickup. “That really streamlines the digital expe rience for our guests,” Siddiqui says. “I think it’s those types of formats that we’ve now become a lot more f lexible with. Those are going to be the future in terms of how we deliver Popeyes to our guests. It’s not going to be all digital formats. It’s not going to be all ghost kitchens. It’s going to be a balance of everything.” While this unfolds, Alarcon and the culinary team aren’t going to rest on Popeyes’ chicken sandwich laurels. Take the brand’s nuggets, which launched nationwide in late July. Pop eyes released them with a cease-fire campaign that called for an end to the Chicken Sandwich Wars. The Popeyes Founda tion purchased the cash equivalent of a million nuggets from the chain, as well as competing brands McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Chick-f il-A, and Burger King, and donated funds to Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans & Acadiana. Notably, the nuggets came from the same recipe as the chicken sandwich, only in “poppable pieces.” The innovation was in the works since the introduction of the former. “A lot of that was capturing the parts of the chicken sand wich that we all love, which was the chicken itself,” Alarcon says. “I mean, everything about that sandwich is amazing, but taking the chicken and the breading and then creating that as a vehicle for sauce.” Nuggets had launched previously as LTOs, yet never with any real emphasis behind it. “I use the nuggets as an example to say the chicken sandwich may have driven a lot of traffic and put us on the map, in some sense,” Siddiqui says. “But I think what we also saw was there were other categories where we weren’t playing.” In other terms, the chicken sandwich opened the f lood gates, like with bone-in chicken and seafood trial. “People come into our restaurants and they’re not just buying the chicken sandwich,” Siddiqui says. The nuggets, which were an ideal launch for kids and cus tomers not focused on heat, then “married over beautifully,” Alarcon adds, into a partnership with Megan Thee Stallion, including a signature hot sauce and merchandise line. The Grammy Award-winning rapper, who Siddiqui says was inti mately involved from day one, actually signed a franchise deal with Popeyes to open up to five restaurants. Cil said the initiatives played an important role in attracting new demographics ( just as the sandwich itself once did ), specif ically Gen Z and millennials, as well as expanding the brand’s p.m. daypart. Going back, market intelligence firm Numera tor released data in the infant stages of the chicken sandwich that showed the social media-fueled item not only brought new visitors to the chain, but it also successfully pulled guests away from competitors. More than half (51 percent) of non-buyers during the shortage period—when Popeyes ran out of supply—

said they went to Popeyes with the intent to buy the sandwich. About 30 percent of Popeyes’ new chicken sandwich fans were purchasing crispy chicken sandwiches at other quick serves in the weeks prior to trying it. So the task becomes how to reward and keep the interest of now-loyal users, and continue to open the funnel for fresh guests to try Popeyes. Homestyle Mac & Cheese was one example, Alarcon says. It arrived in November, topped with shredded cheddar cheese and baked in the oven. Between the nuggets, Meghan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce, and mac innovation, Alarcon says 2021 featured “a lot of firsts” for the brand. And it’s likely a sign of things to come. But as much new news as Popeyes wants to create, it always returns to the core, which is something Alarcon says f its the 50-year anniversary vibe. Recently, she pulled up the original menu from Popeyes. “The thing to think about in 1972 was what made the brand famous was spicy—spicy chicken,” she says. “And you think about how we kind of created this space in the industry that now everyone is leaning into, it’s part of our regular dinner and lunch occasions. It’s such a normalized thing now that I like to think that we did it best. And we did it before anybody else really brought spicy forward and made it a national treasure.” “I think we’re just building on top of that foundation,” Sid diqui says of Popeyes history. “I think we really became part of that pop culture conversation [with the chicken sandwich]. What we’re trying to do when we’re in that conversation is really be authentic to who we are. And what does that mean? It means our Louisiana roots. Our culinary mastery. And, really, this 50-year brand’s roots.” Popeyes has some celebrations cooked up for Year 50, but couldn’t share details just yet. In March, it brought franchi sees together in New Orleans for a three-day party to not only “ground ourselves in the heritage,” Siddiqui says, “but to also talk about where we go from here over the next 50 years.” Part of the conversation surrounds systems and ensuring the brand remains guest-centric while also striving to become more efficient. Alarcon says Popeyes’ blueprint used to be 70 percent new product development, 30 percent looking at main tenance and how to handle existing items. It’s shifted to where 50 percent of time is now dedicated to looking at what Pop eyes currently sells and trying to find ways to make it easier to handle product, and yet still maintain the quality you get from hand battering and breading. “I don’t think we’ll ever walk away from that,” she says. “As you think about that process and the love and care that goes into that prep process, it is unlike anything else and that’s what really differentiates us,” Siddiqui continues. “That’s what keeps our guests coming back and ultimately that’s what’s going to propel the growth of this brand.” Broadly, the key will be to own life as a national chicken chain with no shortage of buzz behind it. The days of being a regional, best-kept secret are gone. “The last three years are the beginning of something really special for the brand,” Sid diqui says. q

Danny Klein is Food News Media’s editorial director. Contact him at danny@QSRmagazine.com .

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MAY 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com