KFC launching spin-off restaurant Saucy

KFC is launching a new spin-off restaurant brand in the US focusing on chicken tenders.

Next week the chain will open Saucy, a quick-service concept offering tenders alongside 11 sauces.

There will also be 11 drinks to choose from, including flavoured lemonades, iced tea and refreshers. The number is a nod to KFC’s famous secret chicken seasoning recipe, which includes 11 herbs and spices.

The first Saucy launches in Orlando, Florida on 23 December but the brand said customers could “expect to see more, soon”.

“Everyone is obsessed with sauce – more is more,” said KFC’s chief new concept officer, Christophe Poirier.

“With Saucy, we’ve taken KFC’s famous Original Recipe and amplified it with a brand-new concept that lets consumers play with flavour.

“You can pick a combo, choose a flight of sauces or, my personal favorite, mix sauces and sides to create your perfect meal.”

Sauces including peri peri ranch, smokey bacon ranch, and creole honey mustard will be available individually or in a flight of four, which KFC said provided over 4,000 possible order combinations.

Other menu items include crispy chicken sandwiches, toasted Hawaiian rolls, crinkle cut fries and a chocolate mousse cake.

Saucy’s hot pink colour scheme marks a departure from KFC’s usual red and white signage and, unlike its sister brand, the restaurant will feature live in-store entertainment.

Diners will order at digital kiosks while the Saucy app will launch on the App Store and Google Play to coincide with the opening.

A growing number of established restaurant brands are trialling spin-off concepts. In the US, McDonald’s launched drinks-focused brand CosMc’s this year and has since opened around 10 locations. Taco Bell also launched a beverage concept called Live Más Café in San Diego in partnership with a franchisee this month.

In London, Honest Burgers opened its spin-off Smash + Grab smashburger concept this month, while Franco Manca owner Fulham Shore opened pizza concept Super Club Roma on 12 December.