Popeye's prompted the fast-food chicken-sandwich craze.
Nothing about its famed chicken sandwich is particularly noteworthy, except that it uses a large fried chicken breast rather than a thin, more processed patty.
But the Restaurant Brands International (QSR) -) brand offering proved enormously popular, selling out at multiple locations while people waited in long lines for it at others.
Popeye's' efforts forced McDonald's (MCD) -), and Burger King to offer similar sandwiches and their initial efforts did not go all that well.
DON'T MISS: McDonald's menu adds a famous name, new type of meals
Both McDonald's and Burger King had multiple chicken-sandwich failures before landing on their current, seemingly successful offerings. McDonald's tried various takes on the Popeye's classic before landing on the McCrispy, making a big deal out of the product by giving it the "Mc" moniker.
"Those who crave a crispier, crunchier chicken burger look no further, than the NEW McCrispy," the chain said in a news release. "McCrispy aims to be the most delicious chicken burger yet and is McDonald’s first permanent chicken burger since 2007, so you know it’s worth the hype."
Burger King had a similar path to its current BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich. It had pushed the cleverly named Ch'King line, which never connected with customers before making the switch.
Now, the fast-food giant has surprisingly released plans to add a new version of its chicken sandwich to menus nationwide.
Image source: Andrew Holbrooke/Corbis via Getty Images
Burger King adds a new chicken sandwich
Once a fast-food chain finds a basic sandwich that works, it develops variants of that core product to shake up the menu. Sometimes it's as simple as adding a new topping or a new type of cheese.
That's exactly what Burger King is doing with its new take on its BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich. The chain plans to offer the Honey Mustard BY Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich on menus nationwide, according to Chew Boom.
"The Honey Mustard BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich features Royal Crispy white meat chicken fillet, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, honey mustard, and Swiss cheese on a brioche bun. You can find the Honey Mustard BK Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich at participating locations nationwide starting August 14, 2023," the website reported.
Burger King seeks to rebuild its brand
Burger King has fallen to third place among burger chains behind Wendy's (WEN) -) as well as market leader McDonald's. That's a sad position for the longtime Pepsi to McDonald's' Coke to be in.
To fix that, the company has committed to a two-year plan dubbed "Reclaim the Flame." That plan, a $400 million commitment, includes $150 million for advertising and $250 million for improved technology and restaurant upgrades.
Some of those advertising dollars have gone into pushing the chain's signature Whopper sandwich. Restaurant Brands International CEO Josh Kobza discussed that during the company's second-quarter earnings call.
"Our Ways to Whopper campaign reminded guests that they can have it their way and choose between one of the over 220,000 ways to build the Whopper," he said.
"We layered this campaign with the Whopper Jr. Duo, our core discount initiative, and the Spider-Verse Whopper promotion, both of which were targeted toward building the next generation of Whopper lovers. These campaigns drove higher average tickets and attracted younger guests without impacting core Whopper volumes."
Get investment guidance from trusted portfolio managers without the management fees. Sign up for Action Alerts PLUS now.
