Poultry & Meat

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Adds UK and Mexico to Global Expansion List

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The Popeyes chain is exporting its New Orleans style menu featuring spicy chicken, chicken tenders, fried shrimp and other regional items to the United Kingdom and Mexico. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the multinational quick service restaurant operator currently has more than 3,400 units around the world.

It was announced on March 23 that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will enter the UK market as part of an agreement between PLK Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI), Ring International Holdings (RIH) and hospitality industry veteran Elias Diaz Sese. RIH is a family-owned international conglomerate led by Ralph Martens and CEO Ralph Lanckohr. Sese is a former executive of RBI, the Canadian-American parent company of Popeyes. Among RBI’s other major quick service restaurant business holdings are Burger King and Tim Hortons.

The first Popeyes restaurant in Britain is expected to open by the end of 2021 and will extend the brand’s growing footprint in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, which already has more than 350 Popeyes restaurants serving customers in the market. The company aims to match that number of outlets in the UK within a decade.

Meanwhile, on March 18 an agreement with JK Capital was announced to bring hundreds of new Popeyes restaurants to Mexico over the coming years. The chain’s presence in the country is currently limited to the city of Guadalajara, where its Chicken Sandwich was launched earlier this year.

“This is a historic moment for the brand,” commented Sami Siddiqui, president of Popeyes Americas. “The announcement highlights a commitment to bringing our famous Louisiana-style chicken to guests all over the world. Our successful international expansions into Spain, Switzerland, China, Brazil and the Philippines over the past few years reinforced the global appeal of Popeyes.”

“Our team has been working diligently to bring these additional locations to Mexico, and I am confident that our brand is positioned for success in the country for many years to come,” added Manuel Rodrigues, general manager of Popeyes in Latin America and the Caribbean. “We’re looking forward to launching the first of our new restaurants in Mexico City later this year!”

Founded in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi in 1972, Popeyes has carved a niche in the global fried chicken market through proprietary cooking techniques and authentic Louisiana flavors. In addition to chicken, its menus typically feature Cajun crispy shrimp surf and turf, flounder sandwiches, Cajun fries, mashed potatoes with gravy, cole slaw, red beans and rice, and cinnamon apple pie.