Popeyes is launching beignets nationwide for a limited time

Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen is adding chocolate fritters to its menu nationwide to draw consumers to its restaurants during the holiday season.

The item is part of a wider menu strategy by the fried chicken chain owned by Restaurant Brands International to use desserts on a regular basis to attract customers. The only permanent dessert on the menu is the cinnamon apple cake, but Popeyes also sells limited-time dessert offers that are sometimes only available locally.

Starting Monday, the beignets, a deep-fried pastry Popeyes filled with Hershey’s chocolate, will be available for a limited time in packs of three, six and twelve packs. Dessert is a famous staple in New Orleans, where Popeyes was founded, although the chain is now headquartered in Miami.

Popeyes tested the new item in Boston and several other northeastern markets in October for “extra strong” customer ratings, according to Popeyes President Sami Siddiqui.

But he said it was unlikely to beat the success of his chicken sandwich, which entered menus across the country more than a year ago. Popeyes has seen double-digit sales growth in the same business every quarter since the sandwich started, even during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I was in [the fast-food industry] It’s been almost a decade, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like a branded chicken sandwich so I don’t know if I want to set expectations that high, “Siddiqui said.

Restaurant Brands, with a market value of $ 27.9 billion, is down 5% so far this year. Tim Hortons, the company’s portfolio laggard, has endeavored to get coffee drinkers after the Coronavirus pandemic.