QSR May 2022

FRANCHI SE PERSPECT IVES

BRINGING OFF-PREMISES FLOW INSIDE THE RESTAURANT IS A NATURAL NEXT STEP FOR KFC.

KFC opened its f irst Next-Gen restaurant in Berea, Ken tucky. Introduced in November 2020 and debuted in Q4 2021, it boasts a digital-forward and contactless experience, including the company’s f irst double drive-thru lane. Additional Next Gen stores opened in Westfield, Massachusetts, and Detroit. Sitting today, about 25 percent of KFC’s pipeline are Next Gen builds, Cahoe says. The only reason the mix isn’t higher is because 2022 represents a transitory phase of sorts, due to con struction and general growth timelines. “We went from concept design to last year getting those f irst locations permitted and

built out and now open,” Cahoe says. “And we’ll go through that round of learnings and feedback with franchise operators.” In other terms, learnings and field experience are inf luenc ing KFC’s coming era. But it’s arriving fast. Pradnya Bendre, director of KFC U.S. architecture and design development, says f lexibility was a key component to visu alizing the brand’s Next-Gen models. And so were some of the tenets driving the chain’s eight-year comeback. “We wanted to elevate KFC’s distinctive identity and really take it to the next level,” she says. “Especially from the point of new customers

KFC (3)

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MAY 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com