Fast Food News: Sales for Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, Burger King's Impossible Whopper Level Off

After months of hype and escalation in what some dubbed “The Chicken Sandwich Wars,” sales for the much-beloved Popeyes Chicken Sandwich have leveled off. This news comes from one of parent company Restaurant Brands International’s biggest franchisees, Carrols Restaurant Group, whose CEO Dan Accordino said similar stabilization of sales has occurred for its Impossible Whopper at Burger King.

At Burger King locations, average daily sales of Impossible Whoppers have decreased from 32 to 28, a fraction of the 234 average daily sales numbers for traditional Whoppers. These numbers have not deterred the fast-food giant from moving forward with further plant-based menu items, with plans for an Impossible Whopper Jr. and Impossible Croissan’wich breakfast item in the near future.

At the height of its popularity, the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich sold upwards of 1,100 a day at Carrols locations. While not giving specific numbers, Accordino said the sandwich is no longer selling at this level but remains stable.

Carrol operates 1,035 Burger King restaurants and 65 Popeyes restaurants in the U.S. Popeyes saw a 21% growth in business during Q4 2019. Burger King saw same-store growth of roughly 2% in the fourth quarter.

Burger King rolled out the Impossible Whopper nationwide in August. After selling out during its initial release in August, the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich returned to the chain’s menu in November.

While the hype for fast food chicken sandwiches may appear to have leveled off for some locations, it nonetheless continues to have a considerable impact on the plans of other major chains. In a letter circulated amongst the McDonald’s National Owners Association, the group bemoaned the success of chains like Popeyes and Chik-Fil-A, stating that customers are largely ignoring the McChicken sandwich in favor of these other options.

“We need to stay focused on coming up with a Chicken Sandwich our customers are going to crave,” the grandiose letter reads. “JFK called for a man on the moon, our call should be a category-leading chicken sandwich.”