Louisiana Burgers…in Paris. The American fast food brand Popeyes arrives in France. A KFC competitor, it will open its first restaurant in the Gare du Nord district of Paris on February 1. With his famous “Popeyes Chicken Sandwich” in the luggage.
This fried chicken burger, a brand specialty like Burger King’s “Whopper”, has already conquered millions of consumers on the other side of the Atlantic. Popeyes features chicken marinated for twelve hours in a blend of traditional Cajun spices, hand-breaded and restaurant-fried.
In France, the recipe will be slightly different. To seduce French consumers, Popeyes will offer an adapted version of its menus, based on the DNA of its brand. More specifically, we will find, for example, cantal instead of cheddar. For vegetarians, the brand is committed to a hamburger made with red beans. On the price side, there are no indications yet. However, the prices should be higher than what we are used to seeing in this type of restaurant, although the sign evokes losses from 2 euros.
A first failure in 2018
This restaurant chain comes from New Orleans, in the US state of Louisiana, a city known for its culinary specialties with Cajun and Creole influences. Created in 1972, the company celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year. It now belongs to the Canadian group Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Burger King. Popeyes has more than 3,900 restaurants in thirty countries, obviously in the United States but also in Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom; the brand has also established itself in Asia.
In 2018, the Lodarest group had already tried to establish the brand in the south of France with an ambitious development plan, but the attempt had been unsuccessful and the three establishments had finally taken on the colors of another group brand, Independence Burger. . This time, Napaqaro, parent company of Buffalo Grill and Courtepaille, is giving the adventure a try. The company owns the franchise for France, for which it has great ambitions: Napaqaro plans to open around twenty restaurants in France’s main cities this year.
300 restaurants by 2030
After the Gare du Nord, another Parisian establishment will open its doors in two or three months, then other restaurants will open their doors this summer in Lyon and Marseille. The stated goal is to open 300 franchised restaurants by 2030, or as many as KFC in France. To differentiate itself from other fast food brands, the service will be carried out at the table, with queue leaders and room managers. Dishes will be prepared à la carte in front of customers and desserts will be presented on an old-fashioned cart.
Although in the first months there will only be one restaurant, Napaqaro wants to develop the brand from launch by relying on “click-and-collect” and home delivery. The company has partnered with the delivery platform Deliveroo and the “dark kitchens” will also strengthen the brand’s network, to cover 80% of the territory of Ile-de-France by the end of this year.
Source: BFM TV
