- KFC has launched a new spin-off concept restaurant this week called “Saucy,” which will offer boneless chicken tenders and 11 sauces in a variety of flavor profiles, per a company announcement.
- The concept store, which launched in Orlando on December 20, with a menu that will include KFC’s Original Recipe breaded chicken tenders and the 11 sauces that can be ordered individually or in a flight of four. The menu will also include sides of toasted Hawaiian rolls, crinkle-cut fries and coleslaw.
- Though a KFC concept, Saucy will have a distinct pink-hued branding profile and a tech-forward customer experience, including ordering kiosks and an environment in which diners are welcome to hang out, according to the press materials. The concept will also include live entertainment at a later date.
The new Saucy concept is a bid to win over younger palettes, who have shown a taste for chicken tenders and experimental flavors. With flavors running the gamut from Chimichurri Ranch, Peri Peri Ranch, Jalapeno Pesto Ranch and Smoky Bacon Ranch to Thai Sweet N’ Spicy, Sweet N Saucy BBG, Spicy Mango Chutney and Sweet Teriyaki, the restaurant claims customers could mix and match to make more than 4,000 flavor combinations.
The concept is also jumping on a hot Gen-Z trend of mixed-flavor beverages, including Passion Fruit/Orange/Guava Refresher, Hot Honey Watermelon Refresher, and a Peach/Mango Lemonade and Freeze.
The focus on sauces also presents the opportunity to make quick menu changes and updates as palettes change, noted KFC Chief New Concept Officer Christophe Poirier.
“Being sauce-focused allows us to be as creative as we want. Saucy is debuting with these 11 sauces, but we envision limited-edition sauces, trend-inspired sauces and sauces created in response to changing taste buds,” he said in a statement. “Tell us what you want to see next! When you’ve already mastered great chicken, the sauce gets to be the fun part.”
In addition to the new menu and customer-facing highlights such as kiosk ordering and live entertainment, the restaurant will also feature technology that will create more efficient back-of-house operations for the store. A “digital twin” of the restaurant will take the shop’s real-world data and run simulations to create algorithms to inform more efficient business operations.
KFC, part of Yum Brands, chose Orlando as the first location for the concept because it has a diverse demographic that fit the concept’s appeal. The company promised more “soon.”
