Popeyes says: ‘Bring your own bun’Popeyes says: ‘Bring your own bun’

Popeyes looks to maintain the attention it received from its new chicken sandwich even while it’s sold out of the buzzy item. 

Popeyes has released a new marketing campaign directing guests to bring in their own bun and make a sandwich. Guests are invited to order a three-piece tender and make the infamous sandwich on their own, without the original fixins.

Following the #chickensandwichwars of 2019, the chain is attempting to continue to cash in on the accidental infamy of its chicken sandwich with a new campaign. After debuting the chicken sandwich, every store across the country was sold out within two weeks.

This original sandwich was created in conjunction with the California chef behind #Popeyesgate where a chef was using Popeyes chicken on a chicken and waffles dish without informing customers. That was in 2017.

Two years after the incident, Popeyes added  a premium chicken sandwich with a brioche bun, sauce and pickles, to its menu. 

It takes about 18 months to craft a menu item, get it on the menu, figure out supply chain and work on a marketing campaign according to Aaron Allen of Aaron Allen & Associates Global Restaurant Consultants.

Now that the chicken sandwich has sold out, the chain is attempting to maintain the buzz while working on a long-term supply-chain solution.

The short-term solution? A video campaign encouraging customers to make their own sandwich. The video shows various customers using any and all buns to sandwich its chicken tenders.

Popeyes traffic was up 218% over their previous July numbers according to Pacer.ai’s data analysis. Traffic continued to rise after the sandwich was sold out on August 27^th with the last few days of the month continuing an upward trajectory.

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