Grammy Award-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s partnership with Popeyes includes her new “Hottie Sauce” and plans to open five restaurants as a franchisee.
Popeyes' relationship with Megan Thee Stallion, the Houston rapper and songwriter, began when she declared herself a super-fan of its new chicken sandwich, launched to great acclaim in 2019.
Last October, her first animated commercial debuted to promote her new “Hottie Sauce” for Popeyes. A white-clad cowgirl bursts through the saloon door, shouting, “Someone stole your Hottie Sauce. All of it.” Megan Thee Stallion, or to be precise her animated character, wearing a halter bodysuit with fringe and thigh-high orange sequined boots, jumps on a motorcycle and roars off.
“Not my Hottie Sauce!” she says, on her way to a showdown. “Give me back my Hottie Sauce, or else.” The partnership includes merch, including bikinis with flames on the top and sweatshirts, too. Megan Thee Stallion also signed a deal to open five franchised Popeyes stores in Texas.
“Organically, on social media feeds, she was tracking with the brand in a way that felt very authentic. She was someone we always saw as a good ally for the brand," said Bruno Cardinali, Popeyes chief marketing officer. “And when we thought of doing a new sauce, and inviting someone to participate in that process, her name came up rapidly. We did our homework to get to know her even better, really getting to the table with her and talking about her aspirations and our aspirations. Things just started to click from the beginning.
“It was great to work with her, and to work with Rock Nation who manages her. It resulted in a very good outcome for Popeyes for sure, for her as well. I think we're happy to see true collaboration come to life."
Popeyes developed a new product in collaboration with Thee Stallion, developed a merchandising line, worked together in selecting the director who did the commercials, and worked together on the animator for the films. When she also signed a deal to develop five stores as a franchisee, it "was icing on the cake, which gave us a lot of pride."
He said a lot of homework goes into a celebrity collaboration—this is Popeyes' first—including two separate research projects. One was "more vague" in how receptive people would be if Popeyes partnered with someone, and a second researched Popeyes and Megan Thee Stallion to see how people responded to the two names.
The research has to be stealthy, however, so people don’t find out before a collaboration is ready to go. "We did engage the marketing council of franchisees, so they were aware," but did not discuss the idea beyond that council because they feared a leak.
"It's doing the work, doing the diligence, understanding the personality, understanding your brand, and bringing everyone on the journey with you," he said. Cardinali declined to disclose specifics about the cost of the deal or the terms, and it was too early in December to divulge specific results except to say they're pleased.
He said ultimately brands have to be bold. "As you and I know, it's hard to please everyone. So I'm not going to tell you everybody's happy. There's never a hundred percent of anything,” but he thinks they’re in a “good place.”