It’s easy to love chicken from Popeyes. Its coating creates “the perfect crunch,” but the breading process challenges consistency and efficiency. Hand-breading can often skyrocket the cost of ingredients and lead to inconsistent coating in batches of chicken.
For quality not to suffer, it was time to search for improvements.
For several franchises across North America, AyrKing’s DrumRoll proved to be the perfect solution to meet brand standards.
The DrumRoll Automatic Breading Machine allowed Popeyes to reduce labor and waste while increasing the consistency of breading.
Many Popeyes franchisees agree that consistency is the greatest benefit of the DrumRoll.
Once Ted Duboise, Director of Operations at QFC, Inc., tested the DrumRoll, he never looked back, incorporating the machinery into all his restaurants. “Consistency is what we all hope and pray for every day,” said Duboise. “Once you load flour in the DrumRoll, you get the same product every time, consistent day to day and shift to shift.”
When QFC tested the DrumRoll at one of its locations, they found it cut down on labor and the time getting chicken out. An operation that typically needed eight cooks to meet demands was able to cut back to 4-6 cooks.
Several Popeyes franchisees have noticed using the DrumRoll alleviates training issues with its simple processes.
The DrumRoll from AyrKing uses 13% less breading and 5% less fryer oil than hand-breading operations. Those numbers are what led Lori Woo, VP at Popeyes Hawaii, to become interested in the equipment.
Bags of flour are expensive everywhere, but in Hawaii they’re especially high. One Hawaii location saw flour efficiency bounce from 78% to 87% after using DrumRoll just 50% of the time. Once the operators began using the DrumRoll 90% of the time, flour efficiency increased to 110% — they were actually using 10% less flour than the theoretical usage.
“Once I saw the savings, I had two more stores start using the DrumRoll,” said Woo (Popeyes Hawaii). “Even with maintenance and parts replacement, the cost of the equipment was paid off within the year.”
The DrumRoll has saved the Parikh Network, owners of 120 stores from Minnesota to Southern Virginia, more than five bags of flour a week in one of its stores during a typical week. When they’re busier, the DrumRoll saves the store closer to eight bags of flour.
“I look at numbers every week and can see a significant difference between the stores that use it consistently and those that don’t,” said Duboise (QFC, Inc.).
The DrumRoll provides cooks with a hassle-free, accelerated option to bread chicken. Plus, it integrates perfectly with Popeyes’ current batter/sifter station. Here’s the process:
Overall, AyrKing’s DrumRoll has delivered promising results for Popeyes franchises, eliminating consistency issues, saving valuable labor time and stretching ingredients.
Learn more about the DrumRoll by visiting https://www.ayrking.com/food-prep-equipment/breading-equipment/drumroll-automated-breader/.
