Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen doubles in size internationally

The number of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen’s in non-U.S. markets more than doubled from 500 to nearly 1,300 between 2017 and 2024, resulting in over $1 billion in international systemwide sales this year.

Recent expansions into New Zealand and Costa Rica helped fuel sales in international markets, Joshua Kobza, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, explained during the RBI Quarter 2 2024 earnings call on August 8.

The unit in New Zealand is predicted to generate $6 million in annual sales, while the July 2024 opening in Costa Rica resulted in almost 1,800 transactions in the first day. In June, RBI finalized the acquisition of Popeyes China in order to expand into that market.

Popeyes is also expected to continue to see strong growth in the UK, India and France, as well as move into Kuwait and Bahrain through an agreement with Tanmiah Food Company.

“We’ve got some big markets that are starting to get to relevant scale,” said Kobza. “Places that I mentioned like Spain, the UK, India, those are starting to ramp up their development pace, but we’re opening some new markets as well. And I would say the results of those new markets have been really encouraging. So all that are kind of the projects that we’re working on for 2025.”

Look for future international expansion to come for the chicken foodservice brand, Kobza said.

“While Popeyes is having a lot of early success in many markets around the world, we know it can do so much more,” he added.

In other chicken foodservice news:

·        Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken added spicy wings to its menus, available in orders of six, 12 or 20.

·         Chick-fil-A is bringing back their Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich, now featuring a spicy option.