KFC has teamed up with sleep wellness company Hatch to release a new “Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain” content channel to help people fall asleep more easily. The partnership was created in response to a recent viral trend in which TikTok users discovered that rain or white noise created to facilitate sleep really sounds like chicken frying. There’s even a 10-hour video on YouTube from the Meditation Relax Club, which has more than 1.7 million subscribers, featuring the sound of frying chicken.
The custom Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain sound is available on Restore 2 smart sleep devices with a Hatch+ premium content subscription beginning today, along with the Hatch for Sleep and KFC YouTube channels, as well as the Hatch for Sleep Spotify page.
"The taste and smell of our secret blend of 11 herbs and spices may be iconic, but who knew the sound of that delicious chicken frying could help you fall asleep?" KFC U.S. chief marketing officer and chief development officer Catherine Tan-Gillespie said in a statement. "Now in addition to enjoying the taste of our new KFC Original Recipe Tenders, people can drift off to sleep thanks to the soothing sound of frying, with the 'Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain' content channel on Hatch+."
According to the chain, Hatch representatives recently visited KFC’s headquarters in Louisville, Ky., to learn more about and capture the real sound of fried chicken. Hatch employees worked alongside KFC's food innovation team to record the sounds of frying KFC's new Original Recipe Tenders.
"At Hatch, we take pride in producing the most effective audio for sleep. When we kept seeing social media posts about the similarity between frying chicken and rain, we decided to make the absolute best version of that audio," Hatch chief marketing officer Eric Pallotta said in a statement. "And who better than the OG fried chicken experts themselves, KFC, to do it with. We're so excited to see our customers' reactions to this fun, quirky content and can help them fall asleep to fried chicken right before bed without ever taking a bite."
This isn’t the first time KFC has embraced “quirky content.” For several years, the chain featured a rotating cast of celebrity Colonels, while also exploring scent marketing, such as the KFC-scented fire log, available each holiday season. The brand has also recently jumped into video game marketing, including the launch of a Colonel Sanders character in the action-adventure game Funko Fusion.
This latest partnership includes brand and social content from Hatch's visit and recording session at the KFC test kitchen, along with co-branded products, including a Hatch x KFC Sleep Shirt, available for purchase at KFCShop.com. KFC Rewards loyalty members will also be able to purchase a Hatch Restore 2 device at a discount.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
