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Popeyes starts off 2020 strong by selling its employee uniforms fans say look like Beyoncé’s sold-out Ivy Park x Adidas collectionPopeyes starts off 2020 strong by selling its employee uniforms fans say look like Beyoncé’s sold-out Ivy Park x Adidas collection

Twitter has once again influenced the quick-service chicken brand, which changed the trajectory of every QSR brand with the chicken sandwich wars of 2019

Holly Petre, Assistant Digital Editor

January 29, 2020

2 Min Read
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If there’s anything 2019 taught Popeyes, it was that Twitter can be a vehicle to turn any moment into a huge opportunity (#chickensandwichwars comes to mind…). When the Louisiana-based brand saw people on the social media app comparing Ivy Park x Adidas’s latest collaboration to its uniforms, a marketing plan was hatched.

Beyoncé dropped the latest iteration of her clothing line, Ivy Park, in collaboration with Adidas earlier in January and it has since sold out, but the colors reminded a certain QSR chain of its own uniforms.

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Beyoncé's collection on Instagram.

 

Popeyes thought the clothing line, all maroon and orange, mimicked its uniforms and now-famous chicken sandwich. In fact, according to a release from the chain, the performer holds a “Popeyes for life card.”

Fans were the first to point out the similarities when Beyoncé’s collection dropped, and where did they air their thoughts? Twitter, of course.

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The Beyoncé collection sold out within a week of its release. So, Popeye’s responded to the social media attention, and fast.

Starting today, fans can purchase a new line of clothing from Popeyes available at www.thatlookfrompopeyes.com, where 100% of the proceeds go to the Popeyes Foundation, a charity that aims to “strengthen our communities with food and support in times of need.”

Clothing items include a hooded jacket, crewneck t-shirt, sweatshirt, tunic, half zip jacket, short sleeve polo, an “executive” button down and 3 hats. Prices range from $10 to $40 for this collection, compared to $25 to $250 for the sold-out Ivy Park x Adidas collection.

The models photographed for the collection are real Popeyes employees. The brand included a lookbook, something more common amongst the higher fashion set than QSR chains. Styled to look like the Ivy Park x Adidas collection, the Popeyes collection only holds ten pieces.

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According to Popeyes’ release, the brand is offering fans of both Ivy Park x Adidas and Popeyes “who missed the boat the first time a chance to score something nearly identical.”

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Shots from the website selling the new Popeyes line.

 

No word from Adidas or Beyoncé on their view of the collection billing itself as “nearly identical.”

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that the items Popeyes is selling are the employee uniforms.

Contact Holly at [email protected]

About the Author

Holly Petre

Assistant Digital Editor

Holly Petre is a digital editor for Nation’s Restaurant News as well as the host of NRN’s podcast, Extra Serving, and producer for Informa Restaurant and Food Group’s other three podcasts, One On One by Food Management, Off the Shelf with SN and In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn. Holly holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Sculpture, fibers and Material Studies and Ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A native New Yorker, Holly enjoys her place on staff as the resident pop-culture expert and millennial with a sassy attitude and great sense of style.

Holly Petre’s work on Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality often covers marketing and trends, either aimed-at or examined-through the millennial mindset. Holly is responsible for introducing TikTok and Twitch to NRN and RH readers as well as explaining terms like “Karen” to staff and readers alike. She also spends her time on staff trying not to make every headline a pun.

Holly Petre hasn’t spoken at any events or on panels, but she is readily available with a killer shoe wardrobe and several witty quips.

 

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