KFC will debut a new concept on Dec. 20 in Orlando, Fla., called Saucy. According to the company, Saucy is a “flavor-forward dining destination” featuring chicken tenders and 11 sauces – a nod to KFC’s Original Recipe with 11 herbs and spices.
The sauces include Chimichurri Ranch, Peri Peri Ranch, Jalapeño Pesto Ranch, Smokey Bacon Ranch, Thai Sweet 'N Spicy, Sweet 'N Saucy BBQ, Saucy's Sauce, Spicy Mango Chutney, Saucy Ranch, Creole Honey Mustard, and Sweet Teriyaki.
“Everyone is obsessed with sauce – more is more,” said KFC’s chief new concept officer, Christophe Poirier, who joined the chain in January. “With Saucy, we’ve taken KFC’s famous Original Recipe and amplified it with a brand-new concept that lets consumers play with flavor.”
Indeed, sauces have commanded a bigger spotlight in recent years. Technomic’s Flavor Consumer Trend Report finds that 34% of consumers consider what sauces and condiments are available when deciding what restaurants to visit. KFC has been a big part of this trend, recently launching Saucy Nuggets, flavoring up its chicken nuggets with honey Sriracha, Korean BBQ, Sticky Chicky Sweet ‘n Sour, Nashville Hot and Georgia Gold sauces.
Chicken tenders are also on trend, as evidenced by the staggering growth of Raising Cane’s and the high demand for the return of McDonald’s Snack Wrap. For KFC, Poirier called its tenders one of the brand’s “menu giants.”
“We love to stand on the shoulders of giants. We’ve had tenders for a long time, starting about two decades ago,” he said during an interview Tuesday. “Saucy is the modern interpretation of Finger Lickin’ Good based on one of our giants. We have such an iconic product with tenders, and if we put them on steroids with sauces, you have something magic.”
At Saucy, customers can order sauces individually or in a flight of four with their choice of tenders – all hand-breaded and fried in small batches as a part of Saucy’s made-to-order model. Sauces and tenders can be paired with toasted Hawaiian rolls, crinkle-cut fries, and coleslaw. The menu also includes an EZ Crispy Sandwich, Spicy Queso Crunch Sandwich, and various combos, including a three-piece tenders combo with a toasted roll, fries, medium drink, and choice of sauce for $7.99. Chocolate mousse cake and Key lime cake are also available. Poirier said there are more than 4,000 ways to order from the new concept to “have a different flavor experience every time.”
Saucy will also play on another massive trend in the restaurant space – specialty beverages. The concept will feature an 11-beverage lineup, including a variety of teas, freezes, and refreshers such as Guava Refresher, Hot Honey Watermelon Refresher, Peach-Mango Lemonade, Peach-Mango Lemonade Freeze, and Blue Raspberry Freeze.
With this part of the menu, KFC/Saucy will join the likes of Taco Bell, which is piloting a new concept called Live Más Café, and McDonald’s, testing a handful of CosMc’s specialty beverage locations. It also comes as the overall category experiences tremendous growth driven by brands such as Dutch Bros, 7 Brew, Biggby’s, Scooter’s, and more. According to Technomic Ignite data, the roughly 20 coffee chains occupying the data firm’s Top 500 for 2023 added nearly 1,400 cumulative locations last year, outpacing every other menu category. Coffee chains aren't alone in their meteoric growth. Other beverage concepts like Swig and Smoothie King also had a strong 2023, with that momentum continuing in 2024.
Menu trends aside, KFC U.S. president Tarun Lal said the challenging macroeconomic backdrop makes it the perfect time to experiment with a new concept.
“We strongly believe that every brand must innovate. This is a time where innovation is key for every business and for every brand,” he said during an interview Tuesday. “We don’t want to be left behind. We are pushing the boundaries of serving what we serve in KFC but in a different asset format and with a different experience.”
Off the menu
While backed by KFC, Saucy is designed to convey a different look and experience (including a pink color palette versus red), according to the company. Drive-thru lanes allow traditional traffic flow, while dine-in customers can order through kiosks and enjoy live entertainment. That live entertainment includes DJs every Friday, or what Poirier is calling “Saucy Soirées.”
“Post-COVID, what we’ve seen, especially with the younger generation, is they are looking for second place. There has to be a functional aspect of food and drinks, but we also want customers to want to hang out,” he said.
The restaurant features technology that enables efficient back-of-house operations, leveraging data and running simulations to create proprietary algorithms that inform how to make tenders as hot and fresh as possible while also reducing wait times. The Saucy app, available on the App Store and Google Play, features 20 points of personalization to account for customer preferences.
What’s next
KFC’s plans for Saucy are to continue growing the concept slowly to refine both the team member and customer experience. Unlike much of the KFC system, Saucy is a 100% equity concept fully funded by parent company Yum Brands.
“As you can imagine, starting from scratch, we have a lot of things to learn. There are things we know and things we don’t know,” Poirier said. “We are acquiring a ton of insights and learnings to create a concept that is much more refined.”
“There will be iterations of the concept,” Lal added. “We will read into how our customers and team members use the brand and polish it while scaling. The plan is to grow more stores to understand the concept.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
