News

KFC's Colonel Bear 'stuck' on new Honey Hot chicken

September 17, 2018

Today's restaurant customer is in love with heat, and KFC is hoping to capitalize on that with its new Hot Honey offering. As the name makes plain, this is chicken that combines honey with peppers to add another level of flavor to the love affair today's diners have with hot spices, a news release said. 

"If you travel across the south, you'll find different recipes for sweet and spicy honey-based sauces. We went through many versions to find the combination of sweet and mild spice that perfectly complements our world-famous fried chicken," KFC U.S. Head Chef Bob Das, said in the release. "With summer coming to an end, people start to crave the soul-warming, comforting flavors that come with fall, so it's the perfect time to introduce our new Hot Honey fried chicken."

And this particular menu introduction is accompanied by a new celebrity Colonel of a different breed — actually species — than his predecessors, Colonel Bear. 

"Aside from his personality, the Colonel Bear's physical appearance is adorably inspired by the nostalgic honey bottles in the shape of a bear that you may have had on your kitchen table growing up," KFC U.S. CMO Andrea Zahumensky said in the release.

And starting today, the chain is also taking entries for a pull-string talking Colonel Bear giveaway on its website. The chain now has four southern-inspired flavors including Hot Honey, Nashville Hot, Georgia Gold honey mustard BBQ and Smoky Mountain BBQ fried chicken.

Photo: Provided