Popeyes is "
the best fried chicken in Louisiana... And now also in Gare du Nord!"
The fries are so sweet, so spicy, you're not ready.
The announcement, all in Anglicisms, of the arrival in Paris of this American fast-food chain on February 1 had inflamed Generation Z, which was unleashed with tweets and “stories” on social networks.
“
When you FINALLY hit your first fang in the Popeyes chicken
,” rejoiced a young consumer on Instagram.
To discover
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Read alsoFrance: fast food returns to pre-Covid levels
Burger King, Five Guys, Steak'n Shake, Chipotle... And now Popeyes.
For a handful of years, American fast food chains have been flocking to France, thus competing with the giant McDonald's, which opened its first tricolor restaurant in Strasbourg in 1979. Thus, the Napaqaro group, born of the merger between Buffalo Grill and CourtePaille, bet on a new brand by developing the American fast-food brand, based on chicken, called Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
The poultry specialties of this great KFC rival are illustrated by a spicier cuisine, inspired by the flavors of Louisiana, a state linked to Creole and Cajun culture.
Franchisor's objective: to open 300 sites in France, despite an initial failure to set up in the south of France in 2018, led by the Lodarest group.
French consumers had not been there, forcing the three restaurants to close their doors.
To ward off this fate, Napaqaro has chosen to invest in the capital, opposite the Gare du Nord, which sees 100 million travelers pass each year.
A growth market
After the flavors of Mexico at Chipotle in 2012, the homemade burgers at Five Guys in 2016 or the chicken with Caribbean notes at Popeyes in 2023, it was another American, Wendy's and its famous square steaks, which announced a few days its desire to invest in the French market.
Third largest burger fast food chain in the world, behind McDonald's and Burger King, ultra-popular in the United States, the brand is present in around thirty countries in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
But it will not be easy for the giant to find its place in a very competitive market.
Read alsoFrance: fast food returns to pre-Covid levels
Why such an interest?
The market in France is buoyant.
The sector, which has returned to its 2019 attendance, is even experiencing a significant increase in sales: 10% for burger specialists, 5% in general.
In addition, there are fewer fast-food brands in France than elsewhere in Europe.
“
France is catching up
,” notes Clara Soppo Priso, specialist in restaurant growth strategies at Simon-Kucher, in an article by BFM Business.
Read alsoKrispy Kreme donuts arrive in France in September 2023
Recently, the very famous American donuts chain, Krispy Kreme, revealed its ambitions in France.
This famous store of round donuts covered in flashy icing, a passion of Homer Simpson in the eponymous series, plans to open its first site in Paris in September.
