Have you heard about the expansion de Chicken Popeyes in Spain? Restaurant Brands Iberia (RBIberia) prepare the arrival to Valencia from one of its premises. And it is that the American fast food chain has already established itself with force in Madrid. It intends to start its second phase of expansion throughout the country in the Mediterranean city. In addition, it will have to face the hegemonic Kentucky Fried Chicken Will there be a niche in the market for chicken fried and junk food? Is Spain your spearhead in Europe?
How is Popeyes Chicken doing in Spain?
We are not talking about a sailor addicted to spinach. We refer to the chain owned by RBIberia, a brand that also owns Burguer King y Tim horton's in Spain and Portugal. This company is known in the United States for its cajun fried chicken typical of Louisiana. Found a receptive audience upon landing in Madrid en November of 2019. Thus, it had to increase the number of stores after starting on Calle Mayor, El Plenilunio and La Gavia. Today it has eight restaurants in the region.
The landing has been powerful. This business represents a planned investment of thirty million euros in two years. The company has also calculated that it will generate thousand jobs in Spain. It is the gateway to Europe and relies on its recipe to expand. The main economic opponent is Yum Brands! The company that owns KFC, Taco Bell y Pizza Hut. Despite the scale of these companies, it has managed to stay afloat in the United States since 1972. Popeyes Chicken was born in that year as an alternative to KFC.
Brief comparison with KFC
You may wonder how it differs from Kentuky Fried Chicken. After all, they both do fried chicken. The differences are several. Style first. KFC chicken is generally more Tender and less crunchy than Popeyes. Notably, Popeyes chicken pieces are more small. This size difference does not impact consumers as much due to the marketing used. In the United States the chain of Louisiana It is reputed to have higher quality ingredients.
This chicken is prepared in a very special way. His secret recipe consists of seven 7 ingredients that marinate your chicken for 12 hours. Then it is battered and fried. One of the "secret" spices that is part of the marinade is pepper. That is why the chicken has a slight flavor hot spicy. He hopes to break KFC's dominance in Spain. This has been operating since 1971 in our country.
The most outstanding dishes offered Popeyes Chicken in Spain are Chicken Burgers and loose parts. Also important are sirloin tenders. In addition, some dishes are adapted to Mediterranean cuisine. Therefore, the menu does not come to us in full from the United States. A clear example is the absence in Spain of butter cookies so popular in America.
The quality of the chicken
Despite this, let us remember that both prepare junk food and that in high doses it can be detrimental to our health. It says a lot that in the United States the highest quality of Popeyes is valued. We must not forget that the North American country does not use the marketing from Europe to show junk food as healthier. An example of this is that they did not change the logo of MacDonald's to green. They also don't show you photos of fresh produce.
In Spain, Ignatius Sedan, Director of the Popeyes brand for Spain and Portugal, the first thing he has done has been to emphasize quality. “We prepare our products using only fresh chicken of national origin. We take special care the quality, not only of the raw materials but of the whole process ”, he commented in the presentation of the chain. At the inauguration he also talked about how the delicacy is coated by hand.
It is in the hands of the consumers the success or failure of Popeyes Chicken in Spain. It is very likely that the new chain will attack from the marketing of the fresh and natural. You will probably also enter a vegan option like his sister Burger King. What is certain is that the fried chicken war has begun on the peninsula. Will it spread throughout Europe?
