KFC’s U.S. segment is in need of change, and Yum! Brands believes the new Saucy prototype may be one of the answers.
The new restaurant concept—which focuses on 11 proprietary sauces, chicken tenders, and creative beverages—debuted in Orlando late last year. Yum! CEO David Gibbs described it as “a flavor-forward test-concept restaurant in Orlando designed for the next generation of boneless chicken lovers.” The hand-breaded and fried chicken tenders are made to order. The restaurant also has kiosk ordering and a mobile order pickup station in the dining room and a drive-thru lane.
He said early engagement has been promising, which reinforces leadership’s belief that Saucy has the potential to drive sales and build KFC’s relevance in the U.S.
KFC plans to expand the Saucy test “pretty dramatically” in 2025 to understand how its elements could benefit KFC U.S. long term.
“Certainly the initial results from that, to put it mildly, have been very encouraging,” Gibbs said during Yum!’s Q4 earnings call.
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KFC’s U.S. same-store sales fell 5 percent in Q4 and 5 percent in 2024 overall. The brand shuttered a net of 122 restaurants last year, which is by far the highest among Yum!’s U.S. and international segments. The chicken giant has 3,669 domestic restaurants, down from 4,074 at the beginning of 2019. KFC remains the largest chicken chain in the U.S. by store count, but Chick-fil-A and Popeyes have closed the gap significantly in recent years.
One of the bigger issues, Gibbs said, is modernizing the experience for consumers. That process has started via the new Byte by Yum! tech stack. KFC U.S. uses the digital ordering platform, the kitchen and delivery system, and the restaurant coaching app.
Turning around the U.S. business falls to Scott Mezvinsky, who was named KFC Global CEO in January. The restaurant veteran started his career at KFC U.S. 20 years ago. He previously served as president of North America and international for Taco Bell.
“As far as Scott coming in and taking leadership with the KFC brand globally, there’s a lot of excitement,” Gibbs said. “Scott’s worked all around the world for KFC, knows the business from the inside out, worked at multiple functions. Fantastic leader. [He] has built a great resume of experiences and success at Taco Bell. And we couldn’t be more excited about him assuming leadership of KFC … He sees the brand in all these countries around the world and grounded in the KFC US business going back as far as 20 years. I think he’s got a lot of thoughts about ways to strengthen that business.”
In addition to Saucy, Yum! introduced last year Taco Bell spinoff Live Más Cafe, a beverage-focused concept featuring specialty drinks like chillers, agua frescas, coffees, and other drinks. Gibbs said consumers have responded positively and that the unit is driving “meaningful incremental sales.”
