Despite criticism from health advocates and outright derision from some bloggers, the KFC Double Down has nearly reached the 10 million-sale milestone. As a result, KFC has decided to keep the sandwich on the menu past its original May 23 limited-time offer deadline.
"This truly is an example of 'popular demand,'" said Javier Benito, executive vice president of marketing and food innovation for KFC. "Our plans were to feature the product only through May 23, but millions of Double Down fans have spoken and we won't disappoint them. You'll continue to be able to get the Double Down at KFC this summer."
The one-of-a-kind Double Down features two boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce.
Even before the product was officially introduced on April 12, public and media interest in the Double Down reached a fever pitch as nutrition experts latched onto purported nutritional claims despite the company's assurance they were erroneous. Those claims, that the sandwich's nutritional content equaled nearly three McDonald's Big Macs, stemmed from a news outlet's analysis of the product, then in test.
Once the Double Down hit the market, it quickly became an online sensation, with fans blogging and posting videos and photos of themselves enjoying the product.
"We've really never seen anything like it," added Benito. "From real-time Twitter reviews and YouTube videos of people eating the sandwich to Facebook fan pages and Flickr photo albums, the Double Down has become a social media sensation."
Not all the buzz was postive. YouGov's BrandIndex and Zeta Interactive's online media mining technology both found the online posts about KFC grew increasingly negative in early April as the sandwich launched. Online reviews were mixed, from "tasty but salty" to "disgusting."
The Double Down contains 540 calories, similar to many QSR burgers. As a grilled version, the Double Down checks in at 460 calories.
