Dive Brief:
- Kentucky Fried Chicken is bringing back Potato Wedges and Hot & Spicy Wings as limited-time offerings starting Aug. 18, the chicken chain announced Monday. The menu play comes as KFC looks to improve U.S. sales, which have struggled for years.
- The brand said restaurants sold out of wedges during a successful market test in Tampa, Florida, suggesting strong diner demand. The Wedges are available on their own, as a substitute for other sides or in a new six-wing combo. Secret Recipe French Fries remain on KFC’s menu.
- KFC’s move resembles sister brand Taco Bell’s strategy of bringing back fan favorites, sometimes after years of absence from the menu, to generate significant sales hype.
Dive Insight:
While many other chains bring back LTOs — McDonald’s with its McRib and Starbucks’ seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte — Yum’s LTO hype cycle also occasionally results in recurrent menu items joining the permanent menu at its brands.
In 2022, Taco Bell brought back Mexican Pizzas as an LTO, selling 45 million in four months, before adding it to its permanent menu.
KFC has not offered Potato Wedges on its menu for five years, according to the press release, and the Hot & Spicy Wings have been off-menu for two years.
Catherine Tan-Gillespie, the brand’s U.S. president and former chief marketing officer, said the menu items were an example of how KFC uses consumer nostalgia to improve its operations.
“We're turning feedback into action as we chart our Kentucky Fried Comeback, a bold, brand-wide rally to give people more reasons to fall in love with us all over again,” Tan-Gillespie said.
But Taco Bell’s success with LTOs and menu innovation is no guarantee the same playbook will work for KFC — high consumer price sensitivity may counteract some of the brand’s menu moves or blunt other momentum-generating tactics.
The brand also mixed its menu plays with new value deals, adding or extending four deals timed to back to school shopping and the advent of the football season.
The chicken chain, despite its early entry into the 2024 value wars, has been a drag on Yum in its home market for a while, posting negative or flat comps every quarter since Q2 2023 and losing market share to competitors like Raising Cane’s and Wingstop. Yum has gradually remade the chain’s C-suite with hires like Tiffany Furman as development chief., The brand also promoted Scott Mezvinsky to division CEO at KFC earlier this year after a successful tenure as Taco Bell’s president North America and International.
LTO cycles and executive alumni aside, KFC may be mimicking Taco Bell’s Cantina strategy with its Saucy concept in Florida and its Kwench by KFC brand lineup in the U.K. and Australia. Those concepts are meant to test potential additions to its menu, including premium drinks and sauces. The brand has also launched more tonally serious marketing in a bid to signal to consumers its intent to restore its reputation and sales.
