Served on a toasted buttered bun, a boneless breast of well-seasoned chicken is added along with a pickle. It’s a customer favorite, and it plays a significant role as the anchor to the business module. For years, Chick-fil-A has been known for their legendary chicken sandwich. When it comes to the chicken sandwich, Chick-Fil-A has been consistently ahead of the competition. The Atlanta-based company has trademarked the chicken sandwich as being their specialty. A debate in reference to which fast-food chain has the best chicken sandwich wasn’t necessary until now.
Blowing on to the scene like a category 5 hurricane, Popeyes chicken sandwich went mainstream this past week. Known as the Louisiana Kitchen, Popeyes launched its version on August 12th by publishing a simple promo tweet on twitter which included a picture of the sandwich. The post read: “Chicken. Brioche. Pickles. New. Sandwich. Popeyes. Nationwide. So. Good. Forgot. How. Speak. In. Complete. Sandwiches. I mean, sentences.”
With over 30,000 likes, the post and the sandwich received mild attention.
The launch started off like a light tropical storm until a rival competitor made a critical error. Chick-fil-A retaliated to Popeye’s new sandwich in a tweet that said, “Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the [heart] for the original.” Â
The response initiated a twitter spat between the two companies. The error of responding created an opportunity for Popeyes. Due to the public debate on social media, many consumers were anxious to try the Popeyes chicken sandwich in order to judge if it’s better than the Chick-fil-A version. For $3.99 a customer could purchase the classic or the spicy chicken sandwich. After trying the new sandwich, consumers took to social media to cosign the fact that the Popeyes chicken sandwich is just as good as advertised. The validation from customers who shared their praise for the sandwich on social media helped accelerate the media buzz. The media frenzy equated to more customers walking through the doors wanting to try the new menu item. The positive reviews via social media continued to roll in. All of a sudden it became an obsession for people to sample the Popeyes chicken sandwich.
The must-have menu item consists of a buttermilk-battered and hand-breaded piece of chicken on a toasted brioche bun topped with pickles. Mayo comes on the original, and a spicy Cajun-spread for the spicy chicken. Popeyes has received millions of dollars in free advertisement courtesy of social media. As a result of the repost and re-tweets, drive-thru lines, and lines inside the restaurants have been tremendously long. Customers have waited anywhere from 20-45 minutes in order to sample the new sandwich. The rave reviews continued to pour in, as customers who tried the menu item continued to use social media to influence others to do the same.
Popeyes’ parent company CEO Jose Cil stated, “You can do all the social media buzz that you want, but if you don’t have a great tasting product, people won’t react the way they have.”
The reaction has reached above and beyond expectations. All across the country, Popeyes restaurants have been running out of chicken sandwiches. The phenomena have reached the point in which the food chain had to set guidelines. Currently, Popeyes has incorporated a 2 sandwich limit. Customers are only allowed to purchase 2 chicken sandwiches per person. Another guideline is business hours. Some of the Popeyes have incorporated a time block. For example, some of the restaurants will only serve chicken sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
With the instant success of Popeyes, (a New Orleans based company) and the steady success of Chick-fil-A, (an Atlanta based company), the chicken war is officially underway. The rivalry is building up to parallel the one on the football field between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons.
Is it Chick-Fil-A? Is it Popeyes? Who has the best tasting chicken sandwich? The answer is to be determined.
