{"id":631249,"date":"2026-09-21T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/631249\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T09:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T09:00:13","slug":"the-customer-will-decide-who-wins-battle-for-irelands-fast-food-chicken-market-rages-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/631249\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The customer will decide who wins\u2019: Battle for Ireland\u2019s fast-food chicken market rages \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard Bartusis and Max Afonin, sixth-year secondary school students from Dublin<\/a>, fought tooth and nail to win one year\u2019s worth of free chicken burgers at the recent opening of the Popeyes<\/a> restaurant in Dundrum Town Centre. They even skipped class for it: \u201cI\u2019m only missing Irish and English, so who cares about that? Let\u2019s just be honest here \u2013 I speak English, I speak Irish,\u201d says Bartusis (in English). <\/p>\n

While the pair will soon enjoy their winnings over the next 12 months for being second and third in the queue on the restaurant\u2019s first morning serving quick chicken on September 11th, it was not a foregone conclusion when they began lining up before 7am.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a bit of conflict outside,\u201d Bartusis says, \u201cpeople scrapping and all that\u201d. Afonin continues: \u201cWe walked in and there was no one else here, so we were pretty happy \u2013 we thought we had got in the first three.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, this dad came in … he was fifth in the queue and he was trying to get us kicked out because he wanted to move up,\u201d Afonin says. The two teenagers say he tried to dupe them into leaving by saying they had to be over 18 to claim the prize. A Popeyes worker confirmed that this was not the case, and the man ultimately left the queue, but not before quipping: \u201cIt was worth a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicken has suddenly become big business in Ireland, with an influx of US<\/a> brands: Popeyes, Dave\u2019s Hot Chicken, Wingstop and Chick-fil-A.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had been trying to get to Ireland, really, since 2021,\u201d says Tom Crowley, the chief executive of Popeyes\u2019 UK and Ireland, which opened its first Irish restaurant in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre in June. \u201cIt\u2019s just been phenomenal, we\u2019ve been so pleased with the response.\u201d<\/p>\n

In just three months or so, the chain has expanded to four outlets. \u201cI think there\u2019s opportunity in Ireland, probably as much as there is in the UK, if not a bit more,\u201d Crowley says.<\/p>\n

The chief executive was quick to celebrate the ease of doing business here. \u201cThe nine per cent VAT [rate] is phenomenal, I wish the British government would listen \u2013 I\u2019ve been very open in talking about the fact that we\u2019re paying nine [per cent] in Ireland and 20 [per cent] in the UK … Mr Burnham<\/a>, please listen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat makes a difference in terms of where you want to put cash and invest … Ireland right now, with that level of support from the Government, is a great place to be investing capital. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another reason why we\u2019re keen to grow relatively quickly, but also not go so fast that you damage operations and quality and those under pressure if you scale too quickly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It brought its popular chicken sandwich \u2013 \u201cour iconic product\u201d \u2013 to London in 2021, and across the Irish Sea five years later. \u201cIt was a bit of a no-brainer, really,\u201d Crowley says. \u201cThe incumbent had been in both countries for a very long time, and our research was really clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crowley says consumers told his team: \u201cWe\u2019re used to McDonald\u2019s, we\u2019re used to KFC and we\u2019re a bit bored, frankly, we want something new and exciting.\u201d He says they \u201cshowed them Popeyes and they said \u2018yes, bring that here please\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

The incumbent is KFC, itself a US company (started in Kentucky) that has been trading here for decades. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in Ireland for just over 50 years now \u2013 we\u2019re proud, honestly, of the heritage that we\u2019ve got in Ireland,\u201d says James Whitehorn, the chief finance and development officer at KFC UK and Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisappointed is a strong word … but we\u2019re slightly disappointed with the scale that we\u2019ve only managed to get to in Ireland over those intervening years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Whitehorn, chief finance and development officer at KFC UK and Ireland. Photo: Ben Stevens\/Parsons Media \"StaffStaff gather at the opening of KFC’s outlet on Grafton Steet in Dublin city centre. Photograph: KFC UK and Ireland <\/p>\n

The company has pledged a \u00a3105 million investment in Ireland to double its number of restaurants to 70 in the next decade. \u201cWe\u2019ve taken a really keen interest in Ireland itself,\u201d he says. \u201cWe see it as one of the top three growth opportunities in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompetition is a good thing, to some degree: it keeps us sharp, and it\u2019s actually very healthy. It\u2019s going to raise the standard for customers; it\u2019s going to create better customer experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later clarifies that \u201chealthily dissatisfied\u201d is \u201cprobably a better way\u201d to characterise the company\u2019s presence in the Irish market as it prepares to innovate its menu across its food and drink offering such as a new line of sodas and more sauces to go with the food.<\/p>\n

Whitehorn says: \u201cI\u2019ve worked in this business now for 12 years and I\u2019ve come to realise that this a very competitive sector in the economy \u2013 you have to earn that customer\u2019s visit. Honestly, I\u2019d much rather be in a category that everyone wants to be part of than one that nobody does.\u201d<\/p>\n

One company that laid its foundations on Irish soil before new US competition came here is BuJo Burgers \u2013 a recognisable brand to many across south Dublin that this summer made its first foray into the city centre.<\/p>\n

Its owner, Stephen Keating, said that while its main offering is beef burgers \u2013 chicken made no appearances on its first menu \u2013 that soon had to change. \u201cWe just couldn\u2019t ignore it,\u201d he says. \u201cLook at the stats yourself and you\u2019ll see how quickly chicken as a product has grown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s versatile, it\u2019s appealing to younger age groups. It\u2019s clean protein … it lends itself to these memorable flavour experiences \u2013 whether you\u2019re dipping or dunking or pouring, you can really elevate a chicken dish and create something entirely new with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become such a big part of our business. It was kind of our dirty secret for a while; I would say, \u2018Christ, it\u2019s taken over\u2019. I\u2019m a beef guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keating admits \u201cmy background is in beef \u2013 so I was a reluctant participant\u201d at first.<\/p>\n

While he is somewhat new to the quick chicken market, the competition has not put him off \u2013 \u201cthere\u2019s room for everybody\u201d \u2013 and he is similarly quick to point out that fast food crazes come and go.<\/p>\n

The war over the quick chicken market in Ireland seems to be raging on all sides, but the corporate winners and losers are yet to be decided. The consumer now has more than enough choice to satisfy their cravings. <\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, the customer will decide who wins. It\u2019s just our job to keep giving them reasons to choose KFC,\u201d says Whitehorn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Richard Bartusis and Max Afonin, sixth-year secondary school students from Dublin, fought tooth and nail to win one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,615,84880,61,60,150837,115],"class_list":["post-631249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-dublin","tag-dundrum-town-centre","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-popeyes","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}