Popeyes scales back wings in a bid to turn around negative sales streak

In August, executives at Restaurant Brands International predicted sales at its Popeyes business would turn positive in the second half of the year, following a sixth straight quarterly decline in Q2.

But the third quarter, reported last week, marked the seventh straight with same-store sales in the red. And while the chain’s losses narrowed — same-store sales were down 2.2% versus negative 5.2% in Q2 and negative 6.5% in Q1 — those same executives adjusted such expectations.

“While we previously expected to return to positive same-store sales in the second half of this year, we now believe it will take a little bit longer than anticipated,” RBI CEO Josh Kobza said during the company’s earnings call last week. “We're not satisfied with our topline results …”

Turnaround efforts

Kobza said Popeyes has made progress in value, operations, and “product satisfaction,” but that progress hasn’t come easy. Last week, the chain dismissed Chief Marketing Officer Matt Rubin after a year in the role, for example. In an internal message, Popeyes President Peter Perdue said he will focus a “significant amount” of his own attention into the marketing team.

But Perdue cut his teeth in operations and finance. Prior to his current role, he served as chief operations officer of sibling chain Burger King. That background may explain why Popeyes is also focused on simplifying the menu in its bid to turn around negative sales. The company announced it is “deliberately” scaling back its wings, noting that they add operational complexity.

“Simplifying the platform allows us to put greater emphasis behind the core items that define Popeyes — our bone-in chicken, tenders, and sandwich.”

Menu simplification

However, Popeyes wings have proven popular. During RBI’s third quarter 2023 earnings call, executives said the then-new Ghosts Pepper Wings helped achieve a record digital sales mix of approximately 25% and Popeyes’ highest levels of chicken QSR traffic share in over two years. It launched Sweet ‘N Spicy Wings shortly thereafter, which became Popeyes’ most popular menu item since the 2019 chicken sandwich launch, noting that they attracted both new and existing customers and increased add-on purchases.

The company expanded its wing lineup in August 2025 to include three sauces and four dry rubs.

Kobza said the decision to scale back wings will add some sales pressure, but is the “right trade-off for the long-term health of the brand.”

Notably, Popeyes’ $6 Big Box also underperformed during the third quarter, generating less incrementality than forecasted. The value meal was brought back in August and has been a recurring LTO since its first iteration in 2014 as the Bonafide Big Box for $5. It was brought back as the $6 Big Box in 2022, 2024, and 2025. This year, it was featured on the menu twice as executives said Popeyes needed to fix “an incoherent value position.”

If there is a silver lining for the chain, executives noted that Popeyes was the only brand in the chicken category to deliver year-over-year improvements in overall service satisfaction in each of the first three quarters of this year.

“Satisfaction with our core chicken is the highest it's been on record, and we're seeing encouraging signs in our traffic trends, which have strengthened sequentially,” Kobza said.

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