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KFC’s new sauce concept puts chicken flavors and fillets center stage
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KFC’s new sauce concept puts chicken flavors and fillets center stage

KFC announced Wednesday the launch of Saucy, a new spinoff concept focused primarily on sauces, chicken tenders and a variety of creative drinks. The unit is scheduled to debut Friday in Orlando.

The store offers 11 sauces – a nod to KFC’s 11 herbs and spices – which can be ordered individually or in groups of four, as well as hand-breaded and fried chicken tenders made to order.

The 11 sauces are Chimichurri Ranch, Peri Peri Ranch, Jalapeno 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,” Christophe Poirier, KFC’s new concept director, said in a statement. “With Saucy, we took KFC’s famous original recipe and amplified it with a completely new concept that allows consumers to play with flavors. You can go for a combo, choose a flight of sauces, or, my favorite, mix and match sauces and sides to create your perfect meal. We’re sauce specialists, not mathematicians, but we tried to calculate it and there seems to be over 4,000 different ways to order from Saucy and have a different taste experience every time.

Saucy also offers an EZ Crispy Sandwich, a Spicy Queso Crunchy Sandwich, Toasted Hawaiian Rolls, Crinkle Fries, Chocolate Mousse Cake and Key Lime Cake.

The food can be accompanied by a mix of classic, flavor-packed drinks, including Passion Fruit + Orange + Guava Refreshment, Hot Honey Watermelon Refreshment, Peach-Mango Lemonade, Peach-Iced Lemonade Mango, Blue Raspberry Jelly, Tropical Black Tea and Classic Iced Tea.

A three-piece tender combo with a bun, fries, medium drink and sauce costs $7.99.

The restaurant has an ordering kiosk, a mobile order pickup station in the dining room, and a drive-thru lane. Saucy plans to offer live entertainment to encourage guests to dine indoors.

The prototype also has technology that uses real-world data and runs simulations to determine how to make tenders as hot and fresh as possible. Additionally, the Saucy app has 20 customization points to accommodate customer preferences, KFC said.

“Saucy is unlike anything else on the market and the experience it offers is in a class of its own,” Poirier said. “Being sauce-focused allows us to be as creative as we want. Saucy is debuting these 11 sauces, but we’re looking at limited-edition sauces, sauces inspired by trends, and sauces created in response to changing taste buds. Tell us what you want to see next! When you’ve already mastered good chicken, the sauce becomes the fun part.

KFC said more Saucy locations are planned in the future.

The announcement comes shortly after sister brand Taco Bell opened Live Más Café in Chula Vista, California. The beverage-focused concept aims to “disrupt the beverage industry with a Taco Bell twist,” the company said.