Five years ago, in a more innocent time before pandemics, the U.S. collectively lost its mind over a chicken sandwich. Now Popeyes is hoping lightning can strike twice.
The fast-food chain is introducing a new chicken sandwich to its menu—and this one has spice. The Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich blends the company’s current offering with a chili-infused Ghost Pepper sauce that Popeyes says is spicy but not mind-melting. It will be topped with barrel-cured pickles and served on a butter-toasted brioche bun.
Popeyes has been in the chicken-sandwich business for a while now, so odds are we won’t see the frenzy that accompanied the last launch.
The chicken sandwich was a gamble that paid off for Popeyes. It was the first time in its 50-year history that the company had offered a sandwich. Demand proved so strong that the company sold out of its entire two-month inventory in just two weeks.
After that, Popeyes took the unusual approach of encouraging people to bring their own buns to the stores and create the sandwich themselves, using chicken tenders.
Popeyes has been open about its ambitions to unseat Chick-fil-A in the chicken sandwich wars from the beginning, but has not yet managed to do so. This latest launch could be targeting Wendy’s, whose spicy chicken sandwich has been a hit with customers for years.
Since the success of Popeyes’ sandwich, many other chains have refocused their efforts on offering a chicken sandwich as part of their menu, even Taco Bell. Earlier this month, McDonald’s launched a chicken version of its Big Mac as it continues to court the chicken-loving customer.