UAE residents might not be aware of the Great Chicken Sandwich War of 2019. In August of last year, Louisiana chicken maestros Popeyes released a delicious new chicken sandwich – known simply as The Sandwich – triggering a social media hype and sales revolution. A year later, The Sandwich is coming to the UAE as the New Chicken Sandwich.
Hang on, I’m out of the loop – what exactly happened last year?
The Popeyes Chicken Sandwich was released at most of its US outlets on August 12 of last year. The Sandwich, which comes in a scrumptious buttery brioche bun coupled with a mayo dressing, tangy pickles and all brought together with a crunchy fresh buttermilk batter fillet, created an unexpected hype explosion when it was unleashed on the masses.
“The demand for the new chicken sandwich in the first few weeks following launch far exceeded our very optimistic expectations," the company told Business Insider in a statement. "In fact, Popeyes aggressively forecasted demand through the end of September and has already sold through that inventory.”
Social media – Twitter, in particular – enjoyed quite a moment with a delicious deluge of hilarious memes and quirky chicken- and/or sandwich-related content.
Popeyes renowned on the platform for its clever clapback tweets played its role well in building up the hype too.
During the brief two-week window it was actually possible to get your hands (and mouth) on The Sandwich, people were reporting long queues and anxious customers.
Some of the figures circling around the success of the Sandwich are staggering – according to Forbes, it earned the company $65 million worth of marketing and exposure.
The Sandwich strikes back
Months later, the chicken chain finally had enough stock for another drop, which appropriately arrived on US National Sandwich Day, November 3.
Some of the best stories of #chickensandwichmania2019 were in simple tweet replies, with Popeyes raining down hard sass on its rivals.
OK, I’m sold! How can I get the New Chicken Sandwich here?
To find out why The Sandwich won social media in 2019, grab your friends and drop by the Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Academic City and Dubai Internet City Popeyes outlets and order it for yourself. Alternatively, ring 600 500 501 for delivery. Popeyes is also available on Talabat, Zomato, Deliveroo and other delivery apps.
Follow @PopeyesChickenUAE on Facebook and Instagram to know more.
