BeyHive members weren’t the only squad to reap the benefits from Beyonce‘s surprise single “Formation” this past weekend. After giving a shout out to Red Lobster on her first track since 2014’s Beyonce album, the seafood sit-down restaurant chain saw a 33 percent boost in sales, Red Lobster’s spokesperson Erica Ettori confirms to Billboard.
“We’ve been comping up since Formation was released and we saw a 33% increase in sales on Sunday,” she says over e-mail about the spike, as first reported by CNN. “It’s clear that Beyonce’s shout out contributed to that. This is a real testament to the power of pop culture on business.”
Red Lobster Responds to Beyonce’s Shout-Out in ‘Formation’
The franchise was also mentioned 42,000 times on Twitter and trended for the first time in history upon the release of Bey’s fiery track, where she sings, “When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster, cause I slay.”
Kim Lopdrup, CEO of Red Lobster, adds, “We are absolutely delighted with what we saw over the weekend, particularly the consumer sentiment that we saw expressed. It’s clear that Beyonce has helped create some Red Lobster fans, and we are very grateful to her for that.”
Red Lobster issued a response to the fanfare, tweeting, “‘Cheddar Bey Biscuits’ has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” While Internet critics didn’t seem to be impressed with the punny tweet, the chain offered the follow-up, “You try to bake Cheddar Bay Biscuits and tweet at the same time! #harderthanitlooks #Formation.”
“Cheddar Bey Biscuits” has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? #Formation @Beyonce pic.twitter.com/QzgVtYAKNo
— Red Lobster (@redlobster) February 7, 2016
You try to bake Cheddar Bay Biscuits and tweet at the same time! #harderthanitlooks #Formation
— Red Lobster (@redlobster) February 7, 2016
Our bad. We’re really busy for some reason. #ThanksB #—-
— Red Lobster (@redlobster) February 7, 2016
You definitely slay, @Beyonce. Thanks for one heck of a weekend. https://t.co/7IJfyl76k5
— Red Lobster (@redlobster) February 9, 2016
Queen Bey dominated Sunday night’s Super Bowl halftime show at San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium with a roaring rendition of “Formation,” which was included in a medley of headliner Coldplay‘s hits and co-star Bruno Mars‘ “Uptown Funk!” She announced her Formation world tour the same day.
Beyonce to Embark on ‘Formation’ Stadium Tour
It was a Super weekend Airbnb
Posted by Beyoncé on Monday, February 8, 2016
Over Super Bowl weekend, Mrs. Carter also showed love to another brand, Airbnb, after shacking up in a lavish Los Altos, Calif. crib that cost $10,000 per night. “It was a super weekend Airbnb,” a post on her official Facebook read.
Beyonce’s 40-show stadium trek kicks off on April 27 at Miami’s Marlins Park. The singer is also expected to release a new album this year, recently described by her stylist Ty Hunter on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live as “beyond awesome.”
