Popeyes has announced the return of the widely successful fried chicken sandwich. The company stated on Aug. 27 that there were no more sandwiches left at literally any location on planet earth. After over two months, the sandwich is officially set to return on Sunday, Nov. 3. Yes, that’s right – Sunday.
The Sunday return is obviously a jab at the new rivalry between Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. The war started back in August with a simple Tweet, Grit Daily previously reported. Of course, the twitter war blew up, and everyone seemed to get in on the fun banter. Which sandwich would reign supreme? The Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich or Popeye’s Fried Chicken Sandwich? People started choosing sides, and other fast food chains even began chiming in.
#ChickenWars
The Chick-fil-A vs. Popeyes rivalry was huge online, but it didn’t last long. Popeyes completely ran out of their new sandwiches after just two weeks. They tweeted saying, “Y’all. We love that you love The Sandwich. Unfortunately we’re sold out (for now).” In a statement, the food chain explained how the demand for their sandwiches was so high, that they ended up running out way sooner than expected. Grit Daily previously reported that they were working with their suppliers to bring the sandwich back as a permanent menu item.
In a new promotional video, it appears that Popeyes is using the rivalry as a marketing tool. The short video shows a man walking up to a road sign and adding “Open Sunday” right next to Chick-fil-A’s “Closed Sunday” sign. It seems like they are more than ready to spark up the rivalry again, and Popeyes is confident that they won’t run out of sandwiches this time around.
Fully Stocked And Ready To Go
Popeyes North American head of marketing Bruno Cardinali told CNN Business that he is “confident that we’ll be able to meet the demand.” It also looks like the return of the sandwich is a permanent one. Cardinali said they are planning to keep the popular sandwich on the menu “for a long time.” Fingers crossed that means forever.
The supply chain was nowhere near prepared for the huge demand in sandwiches a few months ago, but they are now. Cardinali said they have also hired more employees to prepare for the sandwiches big comeback. Back in August, Popeyes manager, Wanda Lavender, told Vox about the intense customer response to the sandwich shortage.
“We are busting our butts and breaking our backs and someone threatens to shoot us because we ran out of something,” Lavender said. “That doesn’t scare me, but imagine what that’s like for an 18-year-old kid who works here? It scares the life out of them. It’s a hard pill to swallow. And all over some sandwich.”
Hopefully Popeyes can meet die-hard customer’s demands this time around. Time will tell if the sandwich rivalry still holds its spark when it returns this weekend.
