The debate on which chicken sandwich is better got a little intense on social media a few days after Popeyes brought a chicken sandwich to its national menu for the first time last week.
Popeyes announced its very own chicken sandwich on Twitter early last week with a fun and clever tweet that basically ignited the chicken sandwich war between fast-food chains.
Chicken. Brioche. Pickles. New. Sandwich. Popeyes. Nationwide. So. Good. Forgot. How. Speak. In. Complete. Sandwiches. I mean, sentences. pic.twitter.com/14kXBv4jJw
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) August 12, 2019
On Monday, Chick-fil-A — the biggest chicken chain in the U.S. by sales — seemingly alluded to Popeyes’ chicken sandwich in a tweet that promotes its own version of the snack: “Bun + Chicken + Pickles = all the [heart] for the original.”
Seemingly assuming that Chick-fil-A is threatened by the newest chicken sandwich in town, Popeyes replied to Chick-fil-A’s tweet with a cunning response.
… y’all good? https://t.co/lPaTFXfnyP
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) August 19, 2019
Though Chick-fil-A did not respond, other restaurant chains like Wendy’s and Shake Shack joined in the discussion to hype up their own chicken sandwiches.
Y’all out here fighting about which of these fools has the second best chicken sandwich. pic.twitter.com/4v9RJFgy0T
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) August 19, 2019
If you're lookin' for a chicken sandwich (without the beef ?), you know where to find us. pic.twitter.com/2wtV2POvFf
— SHAKE SHACK (@shakeshack) August 19, 2019
Social media users also chimed in to share their favorite chicken sandwich, and it appears that Popeyes’ chicken sandwich is currently the most loved.
— Josh McWhorter (@MC_ClapYoHandz_) August 19, 2019
Popeyes is superior to you. pic.twitter.com/YmzBs0Jgf7
— Krishan Patel (@IAmKrishanPatel) August 19, 2019
I’m going with @PopeyesChicken bc they don’t have a long history of discriminating against the LGBTQ community@ChickfilA has homophobic principles
gives charities that are homophobic and discriminatory on religious grounds-& Popeye’s tastes betterhttps://t.co/PsWEKNRFGc
— Tennessee KitKat for Beto (@TennesseeKitKat) August 20, 2019
That Popeyes sandwich got y’all sweating
— ?TMC ? (@trapmoneydre) August 19, 2019
In your case, bun + chicken + pickles = homophobia. No thanks. And Popeye’s is much better.
— Chuck Taggart, Private Eye ??✊? (@SazeracLA) August 20, 2019
According to data from Thinknum, Popeyes earned 25,000 new followers after that friendly spat with Chick-fil-A, which only gained 10,000 new followers as of Wednesday.
Apparently, the growth of Popeyes’ social media following reflects the increase of its in-store sales. “Many of our restaurants have seen a high demand for the sandwich, with guests excited to give it a try,” Popeyes spokeswoman Dara Schopp said in a statement. “A few restaurants have temporarily sold out of the sandwich, and we are working to make sure they receive more as soon as possible.”
However, despite all the positive reception to Popeyes’ chicken sandwich, it’s too early to tell if it will drive traffic to the fast-food chain in the long run and if it will ever help Popeyes’ sales catch up to Chick-fil-A’s.