'All Sides Like It Should Be': A Popular Chicken Chain Is Debuting a New Menu Based on the Viral 'Girl Dinner' TikTok Trend Popeyes new menu surprisingly doesn't contain any fried chicken.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Viral TikTok trends have been influencing fast food and restaurant customers for years, from exposing secret menu items to creating new food combinations.
The latest food trend, dubbed the "Girl Dinner," features millions of TikTok users posting clips of a sides-only "meal," from grapes and cheese plates to cut-up comfort food spreads with pizza, brownies, and candy, all over a sound that says, "This is my girl dinner."
Now, Popeyes is debuting a "Girl Dinner" new menu based entirely on the trend that features Southern-style comfort foods — all sides, of course.
Related: Man Destroys Popeyes Kitchen After Not Being Paid
The menu contains Homestyle Mac & Cheese, Cajun Fries, Mashed Potatoes with Cajun Gravy, Red Beans & Rice, Coleslaw, and A la Carte Biscuits though it's noted that the chain's famous fried chicken is not on the menu.
The original video to use the sound for the trend, posted by TikToker Olivia Maher, has received over 1.4 million views since May, with the hashtag #girldinner generating over 353.1M views.
@liviemaher #girldinner #medievaltiktok ♬ original sound - Olivia Maher
"With the intention to offer a delicious variety of flavors to 'Girl Dinner' enthusiasts, Popeyes designed its 'Girl Dinner' menu to offer guests options packed with robust Cajun flavors that are made with the same slow, time-honored, homemade traditions of Southern cooking that the brand started in 1972 — many of which defy logic for a fast-food restaurant, but which make Popeyes food taste great,'" a Popeyes spokesperson said via statement to TODAY.
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Hundreds on social media found the menu rollout hysterical and endearing, with some calling the concept "elite."
popeyes adding girl dinner to their menu was an elite marketing move
— tay (@taynietzz) July 24, 2023
Popeyes got a girl dinner y'all ?
— ????????? (@car_lissia) July 24, 2023
Popeyes really has "girl dinner" on the menu. It's all sides like it should be
— yasmin (@WatchYazz) July 23, 2023
Now I want Popeyes ??? somebody send me a girl dinner
— Your Favorite Insufferable Leo ??? (@aspencphoto) July 22, 2023
someone explain to me why popeyes created a "girl dinner" section on their menu. it's only sides???. they know their demographics so well??
— milly. (@ohshesthatcool) July 20, 2023
The girl dinner will be available for a limited time for both delivery and pickup.
Popeyes is owned by Restaurant Brands International, which also oversees Burger King and Tim Hortons.
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