Beyoncé is beyond worrying about the market when she releases new music. As these surprising sales numbers from Red Lobster show, Beyoncé bends the marketplace to her will even beyond the realm of music. The casual seafood chain saw a 33 percent increase in sales on the day after the release of “Formation,” a song where Beyoncé alludes to Red Lobster as a reward for, well, some good sex.
After the surprise release of “Formation,” the restaurant trended on Twitter for the first time in its history. Red Lobster spokesperson Erica Ettori said that the chain was mentioned 42,000 times in a single hour. This, of course, prompted them to respond (eventually) with a play on words about their most famous appetizer.
"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
Fans weren’t happy with the delayed response, so Red Lobster played it off.
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
Red Lobster also used the platform to thank Beyoncé for the shout-out sales bump.
You definitely slay, @Beyonce. Thanks for one heck of a weekend. https://t.co/7IJfyl76k5
— Red Lobster (@redlobster) February 9, 2016
The travel-size hot sauce industry is much harder to get a bead on, but we expect news within the week.
For more on Beyoncé, check out the best reactions to her Super Bowl 50 performance. Then, take a look at all the flak Queen Bey is catching for the “Formation” video, if only so you can understand The Daily Show‘s perfect response.
(Via CNN Money)