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Case Details

Case Code: OPER142
Case Length: 13 Pages 
Period: 2019      
Pub Date: 2020
Teaching Note: Available
Price:Rs.300
Organization : Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc.
Industry :Foodservice
Countries : United States
Themes: Operations and Supply Chain Management/Logistics & Supply Chain/Marketing Strategy
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Popeyes Chicken Sandwich – A Marketing Triumph or a Supply Chain Disaster?

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ABSTRACT

 
The US-based Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. (Popeyes), a chain of fast food restaurants, offered items like chicken, seafood, sandwiches, wraps, kids’ meals, sauces, desserts, and beverages. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Popeyes was founded in 1972 by entrepreneur and culinary innovator Al Copeland. On August 12, 2019, Popeyes added a temporary item to its menu – Fried Chicken Sandwich. Initially, the product received lukewarm response – until Chik-Fil-A, Popeyes’ competitor, tweeted claiming its own chicken sandwich was the most authentic. Popeyes replied with a tweet which started a tweet war between the two. Soon some other quick service restaurants in the US joined the fray. The Twitter war made the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich famous and pushed up their sales so much that Popeyes’ stock of two months finished by August 27 and it had to declare the sandwiches “Sold Out”. It took the chain another two months to relaunch the chicken sandwich.

 
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Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:
  • To understand the bullwhip effect in supply chains.
  • To explore the reasons for supply chain failure in the fast food industry.
  • To analyze the use of product scarcity as a promotional tool.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT POPEYES
THE CHICKEN SANDWICH WAR
BRING YOUR OWN BUN
THE RE-LAUNCH
EXHIBITS

Keywords

Bullwhip Effect, Supply Chain Efficiency, Responsive Supply Chain, Product Scarcity Marketing

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