“To be honest, I thought they were calling to sue me.” Those were the words of Kim Sánchez, owner of Sweet Dixie Kitchen, a trendy brunch spot in Long Beach, California. By now, Popeyes’ chicken sandwich, and the social media eruption that followed, has buried news across the fast-food lexicon. Including where this crazy story actually began from a marketing standpoint.
Back in 2017, Sweet Dixie Kitchen grabbed notorious headlines when it got caught serving Popeyes chicken and presenting it as their own. Sánchez was spotted walking through the front door with Popeyes bags. It went viral overnight and sparked the #POPEYESGATE backlash.
Popeyes playfully engaged the restaurant to introduce its new chicken sandwich—the company’s biggest product launch in 30 years (and that was true before it even hit stores)—from August 8–9 ahead of the August 12 rollout.
“If you want to try it, be sure to pay them a visit on August 8 and 9. We promise our new sandwich is worth the visit,” Bruno Cardinali, head of marketing for North America for the Popeyes brand, said in an earlier release.
[....]
According to Business Insider, Popeyes said it sold as many sandwiches in that span as it expected to hand out through the end of September. It didn’t provide a timeline for when the item might return.
"We, along with our suppliers, are working tirelessly to bring the new sandwich back to guests as soon as possible," the company told BI.
International Business Times, citing “various sources,” said Popeyes earned anywhere between $20–$23 million from its new chicken sandwich, and the buzz that followed.
Apex Marketing Group estimated Popeyes’ garnered $23 million in equivalent ad value across digital, print, social, TV, and radio in the 11 days that followed August 12.
