When it comes to spice, fast-food chains have to navigate marketing power with a menu that needs to be palatable to a wide American audience. The truly, burn-your-mouth spice is rarely found at mainstream chains while something that inches closer to the top of the Scoville scale are usually reserved for limited-time-only items and other brief promotions.
A year ago, Arby's of Inspire Brands briefly had a Diablo Dare sandwich so spicy as to need something to "cool your mouth down between bites." (A small vanilla milkshake did indeed come included with each order of the sandwich.)
Restaurant Brands International (QSR)'s Popeyes is a chain that generally offers more heat than average. Classic items from its chicken thighs and drumsticks to the now-legendary chicken sandwich all come in spicy versions along with temporary promotions like the Blackened Chicken Sandwich marinated in a blend of paprika, cumin, and red, white, and black pepper.
A Very Spicy Item Comes Out From Retirement
One dish that periodically comes back to the Popeyes menu is its Ghost Pepper Wings -- the bone-in chicken pieces covered in a crispy buttermilk coating and a spice blend that includes the famed ghost pepper (its high heat unit count places it very close to the top of the Scoville Scale).
Each order comes with a side of buttermilk ranch sauce for dipping.
The dish first launched in 2014 but has never stayed on the menu for more than a couple of months. This time around, they will be available between now and Feb. 12. Six pieces sell for $5 when ordering in the Popeyes mobile app for pick-up and $6 when doing so in-store or as a delivery order.
"Our Ghost Pepper Wings have been a fan favorite amongst our guests, combining the perfect amount of spice and flavor for wing lovers," Popeyes North American President Sami Siddiqui said in a statement. "The holiday season can be tough on everyone's wallets, and we're so excited to bring back Ghost Pepper Wings at an incredible value that can't be beat."
To start off 2023, Popeyes also launched two new desserts -- a blueberry lemon pie and a strawberry cheesecake.
Popeyes
Heat And Spice As A Marketing Strategy
Over the last decade, spice has turned out to be a powerful marketing tool for many fast-food companies. Even if the item is not truly spicy in comparison to a family-run restaurant in most major cities, marketing campaigns around "how much heat can you handle?" attract quite a few customers by the provocation.
But as field research shows, ultra-spicy items may attract some loyal heat fans and allow chains to score headlines about how it has the "spiciest sandwich in the U.S." but still make up a fraction of what the fast-food chain sells in a day.
"Whether it's quantitative or qualitative, the research usually tells us when we ask our guests, 'Can you see yourself buying this from Popeyes?' or 'Do you see yourself craving this from Popeyes?'" Siddiqui told TheStreet in an exclusive interview in May.
A popular non-spicy item launched by competitor Kentucky Fried Chicken of Yum! Brands (YUM) more than 30 years ago is the Pot Pie. The chain is currently offering fried chicken, peas and carrots baked into a golden pie crust for $5.
