LOUISVILLE Ky. KFC will introduce its newest Ultimate Value Menu items this weekend with the launch of a completely new kind of restaurant: the first-ever KFC “Float Thru,” a takeout-window-equipped boat anchored just off the Oak Street Beach in Chicago.
Boaters and jet ski enthusiasts who sail over to the Float Thru during this weekend’s professional-volleyball tournament, the AVP Crocs Cup Championship Kentucky Grilled Chicken Chicago Open, get to sample value menu items for free, including the newest additions. Those items include the Grilled Chicken Value Box, Mini Melts and Brownie Bites.
“We work hard to promote our delicious menu items in new and exciting ways,” said Javier Benito, executive vice president of marketing and food innovation for KFC. “Our newest Value Menu items are a perfect mix of affordable, portable and delicious. Menu offerings that versatile deserved a unique launch, and serving as title sponsor for the 2009 AVP Kentucky Grilled Chicken Chicago Open gave us the perfect platform to do just that.”
This isn’t the first time KFC has made a splash with a nontraditional marketing tactic. Back in April, the chain paved fresh asphalt over potholes in its headquarters city of Louisville and spray-painted its logo over the handiwork. At the Float Thru’s debut, pro-volleyball players Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh joined a Col. Sanders lookalike to serve the nautical restaurant’s customers.
The Grilled Chicken Value Box, which sells for $1.99, includes a choice of either a grill drumstick or thigh with KFC’s Potato Wedges. The Mini Melts, which go for 99 cents apiece, comprise pulled chicken doused in the chain’s Honey BBQ sauce and mixed with a three-cheese blend, wrapped in a tortilla and pressed on a grill. The Brownie Bites come in a three-pack for 99 cents.
KFC, a division of Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc., has more than 15,000 restaurants in 109 countries.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected]
