Restaurants

A Beyonce mention sends Red Lobster sales higher

Red Lobster sales jump following a Beyoncé mention
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Red Lobster sales jump following a Beyoncé mention

Beyonce's newest song "Formation" is doing more than racking up viral views on YouTube. It's also increasing traffic and sales at Red Lobster.

The music video, suddenly posted on Saturday, already has more than 13.3 million views on the video platform and features a series of off-color lyrics about enjoying the popular seafood restaurant.

Weekend sales at Red Lobster saw a significant boost from "Queen Bey," spiking 33 percent on Sunday over last year, company brass said.

"We are absolutely delighted with what we saw over the weekend, particularly the consumer sentiment that we saw expressed," Kim Lopdrup, CEO of Red Lobster, told CNBC. "It's clear that Beyonce has helped create some Red Lobster fans, and we are very grateful to her for that."

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The restaurant traditionally experiences a spike in sales during this time of year due to their annual "Lobster Fest" promotion, but Lopdrup credits this weekend's boost to the R&B star. The company refers to it as the "Beyonce Bounce" and some of its employees have already begun renaming popular menu items after the pop star.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits are now Cheddar "Bey" Biscuits and their Bay Breeze drinks are "Bey" Breezes.

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Red Lobster also saw an unexpected boost on social media over the weekend, garnering more than 300,000 tweets and trending on Twitter for the first time in the brand's history.

A response tweeted by the company earned more than 14,200 likes and 13,600 retweets — the most the company has ever received. Google searches for the brand also spiked, according to the company.

"We had an amazing weekend, particularly Super Bowl Sunday, which I think helps demonstrate the power of celebrity endorsement and pop culture," Lopdrup said.