Restaurant Brands International (RBI) revealed that it was testing delivery in several hundred restaurants at both Burger King and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
Restaurant Brands International purchases Popeye’s for $1.8 billion in April last year. Favorable international results encouraged RBI to further expand domestic tests, chief executive officer Daniel Schwartz said. In addition, early U.S. pilots were providing solid feedback, including a customer affinity for dinner and late-night orders, which are two segments that typically return higher checks.
Popeyes inked an agreement with Uber Eats to expand its deliver service in New York, Chicago, Miami, and Washington. Popeyes has grown its unit count nearly 7 percent in the first quarter, year-over-year, to bring the total to 2,926 up from 2,743. Uber Eats is available globally in more than 200 cities. Popeyes same-store sales lifted 3.2 percent in the first quarter.
“Now with Uber Eats, we can provide doorstop delivery. We’re excited to give our guests the great taste they love with the added convenience of delivery,” said Chad Crawford, president, North America for Popeyes. Popeye’s said Uber Eats data showed that fried chicken orders rose 54 percent over the last year.
Burger King delivery may be next. Burger King has 16,859 total restaurants and RBI chief executive officer Daniel Schwartz said the burger chain’s delivery was doing well in early tests.
