Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, a subsidiary brand of Restaurant Brands International (QSR -0.75%) or RBI, is using its chicken sandwich profits as a springboard for a major makeover and global expansion. Upcoming plans include a push into new markets, further development in existing international markets, and a total redo of the look of everything from food wrappers to restaurant architecture and signage.
Consumers' skyrocketing hunger for chicken sandwiches proved strong enough for Popeyes to come through even the COVID-19 pandemic relatively unscathed. Its sales soared 29.2% last quarter despite the negative pressure of coronavirus and the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders the disease prompted. As the virus possibly ebbs, chicken demand seems to be rising again.
Image source: Getty Images.
On the aesthetic front, Popeyes has engaged the services of Jones Knowles Ritchie, a design company that has worked for prominent companies worldwide. The chicken restaurant chain believes it is time "to translate its Louisiana roots in a more modern approach by completely redesigning the brand's visual identity and restaurant image" with its Renaissance program.
Brighter interiors with a considerable use of white, a white exterior, new lettering for logos and exterior signs, and "hand-drawn," "unapologetically orange" patterns on wrappers, boxes, and other food or beverage containers are all part of the plan. A company press release stressed the changes in signage, saying the "old playful Popeyes logo has been matured with a contemporary typeface that elevates the brand."
Adding new restaurants to its network abroad also has high priority in Popeyes' near future. The chain comments on its "rapid planned development in mainland China, where the goal is to open over 1,500 restaurants across the country," and says it will also enter fresh overseas regions next year.
