News
KFC adds value menu
February 9, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — KFC has launched its first-ever value menu and promoted it with the return of founder Colonel Sanders' handwritten Original Recipe to the company's Louisville, Ky., headquarters.
The brand's new value menu includes an assortment of 10 menu items priced at 99 cents, $1.49 or $1.99. The new menu items include:
- At 99 cents – KFC Snacker Sandwiches, two Biscuits or two Apple Turnovers
- At $1.49 – Side Salad or KFC Toasted Wrap
- At $1.99 – Snack Boxes (Popcorn Chicken with Potato Wedges or Three Hot Wings with Potato Wedges), Snack Size Bowl or Honey BBQ Sandwich
KFC president Roger Eaton said at the unveiling of the new vault and security system for the Original Recipe that items on the value menu have each appeared on the KFC menu, whether as regular menu items or limited-time offers.
The company also is taking on a number of initiatives to boost the brand's domestic performance, which has lagged behind its international sales in recent years.
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KFC president Roger Eaton (right) discusses the benefits of the Original Recipe's new vault with KFC corporate security expert, Bo Dietl. |
"This is a highly competitive marketplace," Eaton said. "We need to become very relevant in that context."
KFC's plans for increasing its market share include focusing on the brand's product quality, including its made-from-fresh chicken, as well as its array of lunch offerings and affordable meal deals at dinner, he said.
"Most importantly in the macro economics we're in, we've got to give (the meal) to mom at a price point and in a manner that (the customer) gets a great meal at a sharp price point, and that's what we're doing. We're improving our value agenda dramatically," Eaton said.
In April, KFC will launch its grilled chicken menu items. While Eaton would not give specifics regarding sales of the grilled products in test markets, he said he was certain that the launch would be dramatically successful.
New security system for Original Recipe
Last fall, KFC removed its handwritten Secret Recipe to a secure location while a new, modern security system was installed at the KFC headquarters. The recipe, which Eaton said he has never seen in its entirety, now resides in a custom-built, digital FireKing safe that weighs more than 770 pounds and has a 1/2-inch thick steel door.
The computerized safe also boasts a dual-opening system that requires both a smart key and a personal identification number (PIN). A built-in silent alarm and time lock feature provide additional layers of safekeeping, which will alert the security team of any attempted intrusion and allow access to the safe only during pre-set periods of time.
In addition, the vault housing the new safe is reinforced with two feet of concrete in the ceiling, walls and floor to ensure that no one can tunnel or drill into the vault. Additionally, the vault and safe are now under 24-hour video and motion-detection surveillance.
A cornerstone of KFC, Sanders' Original Recipe ranks among America's most valuable trade secrets. Two different suppliers each make a portion of the Original Recipe breading, and the two components are then blended at the store. Eaton said only two people in the KFC Corp. know the recipe.
Eaton would not disclose the cost of installing the new security system but said the amount was substantive and necessary to protect the recipe.
"Imagine what our world would be like if that secret recipe was taken from our premises," he said. "I certainly wouldn't want to be the president who lost the recipe."
Click here to see KFC's TV commercial promoting the value menu.
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