Popeyes banks on more marketing and remodels to build sales

Popeyes plans more marketing this year after an agreement with franchisees. | Photo courtesy of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.

Get ready to hear a lot more from Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen this year. 

Franchisees of the Miami-based fast-food chicken chain have agreed to spend more on national advertising this year, executives with parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI) told analysts on Wednesday. 

Eighty-five percent of the chain’s franchisees have agreed to change their franchise agreements, which will increase their national ad spending over the next three years. 

Starting in April, they will spend 5% of their sales on national advertising, up from 4.5% previously. By year three of the agreement, that will increase to 5.5%, so long as the company meets certain franchisee profitability thresholds. 

In exchange, the company will provide participating restaurants with a $4,000 royalty credit per restaurant. Those credits will cost Popeyes $10.5 million. 

In addition, the company convinced franchisees to remodel their locations into a more modern image by 2030. 

Meanwhile, Popeyes also said that it plans to roll out improvements to the kitchen that it’s been testing in some 200 locations, which executives hope will improve operations and service speed at a concept that has evolved its menu over the past few years. 

“Our strategy is clear,” RBI Executive Chairman Patrick Doyle said, “attract more people to try our food, and ensure every guest receives a quality experience.” 

Popeyes largely redefined its brand in 2019 when it introduced its Chicken Sandwich, changing the company from one that largely sold bone-in chicken for dinner into one that served a lot more occasions. 

That introduction fueled substantial increases in unit volumes and store-level profitability. Last year, the typical Popeyes location generated $255,000 in profits, according to RBI. That was about 25% higher than sister chain Burger King ($205,000), and was up 4% compared with the previous year. 

But sales have been inconsistent of late. Same-store sales rose 0.1% in the fourth quarter, and 0.6% for the full year, after the chain got off to off to a hot start early in 2024 with the introduction of chicken wings.

The company has been working on operational improvements in the kitchens for some time to address complexity issues that arose following the sandwich introduction. 

With a wider array of products and a customer more likely to visit the chain’s restaurants at lunch, many Popeyes franchisees struggled with operations. 

Executives have suggested that Popeyes isn’t performing to expectations at least in part because of those operational concerns.

By the end of 2026, RBI CEO Josh Kobza said, each Popeyes location should have new point-of-sale system, digital drop charts, sticky label printers, order-ready boards, kiosks, new back-of-house equipment and improved hot-holding units. 

He said the upgrades improve workers’ experience, reduce wait times and improve order accuracy while preserving food quality. 

“Our food quality speaks for itself,” Doyle said. “So delivering consistently exceptional guest experiences will be key to unlocking growth.” 

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