Faced with mounting competition from rivals such as Raising Cane's, KFC is launching a strategy to reclaim its dominant position in the American fast-food market.
asserted
KFC → face → market
On Thursday, the brand debuted an experimental concept store in McKinney, Texas, designed to test new ideas domestically.
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brand → debut → ideas
Named Open House, the location marks the chain's first venture into US breakfast service and features late-night hours.
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location → name → hours
Its menu introduces specialty beverages including boba refreshers and milkshakes topped with crunchy bits, alongside a broader selection of chicken tenders, dipping sauces, and sides like spicy pickles and fried green beans.
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menu → introduce → pickles
While the facility incorporates modern conveniences like a mobile pickup station and two drive-thru lanes, the interior layout invites guests to linger.
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layout → incorporate → guests
Diners place orders at touch-screen kiosks before receiving table service from staff.
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Diners → place → staff
The store also houses a merchandise section and a customer photo booth.
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store → house → section
Details remain unconfirmed regarding which elements will reach KFC’s other 3,424 domestic branches.
uncertain
elements → remain → branches
However, the beverage line is expected to expand broadly, following rollouts across international markets such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Turkey.
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line → expect → Kingdom
KFC is trying to make fast food more of an experience
The Texas concept and gleaming, multi-story flagships set to open in Dubai, Seoul and London show KFC is trying to make grabbing fast food more of an experience.
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grabbing → try → experience
“People don’t remember what they eat, but they remember how they were feeling when they were eating,” KFC Chief Concept Officer Christophe Poirier, who leads new restaurant design, said.
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who → remember → design
Poirier said KFC is automating tasks like ordering so employees can focus on hospitality.
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employees → say → hospitality
Ideally, KFC will function more like an Apple Store or a luxury retailer, he said, without the stressful lines or grumpy cashiers that plague the fast-food industry.
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that → function → industry
“You leave the retailer and say, ‘Wow.
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You → leave → retailer
For 10 or 15 minutes I was feeling like a king,’” he said.
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he → feel → king
Kentucky-born brand is thriving abroad but its US sales are down
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sales → bear → ?
KFC was the pioneer of fast-food fried chicken.
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KFC → fry → chicken
The brand got its start in 1930, when Harland Sanders bought a roadside motel in Corbin, Kentucky, and started serving fried chicken to travelers.
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Sanders → get → travelers
In 1952, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened in Utah.
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franchise → open → Utah
Now owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands, KFC has grown into one of the world's largest fast-food chains.
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KFC → own → chains
As of June, the brand counted more than 34,000 restaurants in over 150 countries.
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brand → count → countries
A new branch opens somewhere in the world every 3 1/2 hours, according to Poirier.
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branch → open → Poirier
China alone accounts for almost 40% of KFC restaurants worldwide.
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China → account → restaurants
But U.S. sales have faltered as fast-growing competitors raced to meet rising demand for chicken from American consumers seeking leaner sources of protein.
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competitors → falter → protein
Chick-fil-A and Popeyes began expanding rapidly in the 2010s; both brands now have nearly as many U.S. locations as KFC.
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brands → expand → KFC
Newer chains like Raising Cane’s, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Wingstop focused on chicken tenders and sauces, making KFC’s buckets of bone-in chicken look out of date.
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buckets → focus → date
McDonald's said this week that it's bringing hand-breaded chicken, like KFC has long made, to the U.S. and other markets.
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KFC → say → U.S.
Even Long John Silver’s recently added fried chicken wings to its menu.
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Silver → add → menu
In 2015, KFC commanded a 20% share of the $21.8 billion in U.S. chicken-chain sales, according to Technomic, a restaurant market research company.
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KFC → command → Technomic
By 2025, KFC’s share had fallen to 8%, even as sales at chicken chains more than doubled to $57.7 billion.
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sales → fall → billion
KFC wants to attract younger customers without losing older ones
Younger diners see the brand as old and tired, said Neil Saunders, a managing director with the market research company GlobalData.
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Saunders → want → company
They’re down at the heel and grubby.
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They → ’re → heel
They don’t feel contemporary,” Saunders said.
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Saunders → feel → ?
KFC has pursued a turnaround for a while, shedding underperforming U.S. locations even as it expanded overseas.
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it → pursue → locations
Since the beginning of 2022, 529 KFC restaurants in the U.S. have closed, according to company filings.
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restaurants → close → filings
The brand has also experimented with its menu.
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brand → experiment → menu
Work to develop KFC's portfolio of 20 sauces and improve its chicken tenders advanced at a small concept store in Florida called Saucy by KFC, which opened in 2024, said Dhiren Karnani, KFC’s global head of food and experience.
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Karnani → develop → food
Beverages became a focus after research indicated that younger consumers often decide where to eat based on drink selections, he said.
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he → become → selections
Karnani said KFC had to ensure menu changes fit the brand and elevate its chicken, which still uses Sanders’ original recipe.
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which → say → recipe
KFC wants to respond to consumer demand for more beverages and tenders, he said, but will still serve bone-in chicken and sides like gravy.
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he → want → gravy
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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