Big Changes Are Coming To KFC In 2026

New years are an opportunity to reset, assess goals, and examine past performance and current capabilities. This applies to people, organizations, and businesses. KFC, home of the Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken, appears on track to go full throttle with its comeback plans, which began in 2025. KFC was once the biggest fast food chain in America. And while its icon status is undeniable, the restaurant has sadly slipped down the ranks as other fried chicken fast food chains have performed better during the past years. As the fast food chicken wars intensified throughout the last decade, fried chicken chains are doing better than ever, and even fast casual and full-service restaurants are beginning to offer more poultry options. Sadly for KFC, its store sales declined for six consecutive quarters by the end of 2025.

This is a crucial year for KFC. After some key appointments, reshuffling its C-level management, and announcing the company's intentions for a grand comeback, the chain launched promotions to get people talking, including a short ad featuring a reimagined Colonel Sanders, free chicken buckets, and limited-offer menu items. These felt like trial periods, however, as though KFC is testing the waters for bigger and more exciting things. And indeed, less than a week into 2026, we're already hearing about what's in store for the next 12 months. Here's what we know so far about the big changes coming to KFC in 2026.

Several years ago, no one would have thought that AI could one day take over restaurant kitchens. Nevertheless, we're becoming increasingly accustomed to seeing AI in the fast food and quick service restaurant (QSR) industry. Over the past few years, chains like McDonald's and Wendy's have implemented AI to voice and receive drive-thru orders. These deployments haven't been perfect, but the industry still sees a lot of potential for AI integration in fast food operations.

In 2025, Yum! Brands, KFC's parent company, developed and deployed Byte by Yum!, an AI platform that streamlines and integrates digital systems across an entire restaurant operation. By the second half of 2025, over 4,000 KFC stores in the U.S. and abroad have started using a store management assistant called Byte Coach, which offers recommendations based on real-time analytics of customers' feedback on social media, as well as data from third-party delivery services. The tool is expected to improve efficiency, minimize order-taking mistakes, and increase overall sales.

Yum! Brands CEO Chris Turner and Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy say there's more to come for the Byte platform in 2026. They also plan to create more functionalities and integrate them into additional restaurants across the company. KFC is already leading the pack: KFC Taiwan launched Kala, an in-store, on-screen AI assistant in 2024, while KFC China introduced a facial recognition kiosk that suggests orders based on a customer's facial features in 2016.

When a fast food chain wants to try a novel menu or concept different from its core branding, it creates a brand-new venture where it can freely test these ideas. McDonald's did it with CosMc's, which lasted less than two years, but awarded the chain valuable market insights it can now apply to the brand. KFC is doing the same with Saucy, a concept brand with a smaller menu targeting a younger crowd.

On the surface, Saucy is KFC's response to America's fried chicken wars. It offers what everyone already loves about KFC — the trademark Original Recipe fried chicken seasoned with 11 spices — and what Americans can't seem to get enough of: chicken tenders. To differentiate the brand from leading competitors, Saucy offers 11 sauces that customers can pick from or mix according to their preference. It's a simple but attractive selling point, and the company is making the most of Saucy to experiment with menus that would be out of place at a regular KFC.

At the end of 2025, Saucy introduced five new menu items: a chicken teriyaki bowl, chicken Caesar salad, crispy Brussel sprouts, beignet-like Puffies, and Late Night tortilla wraps that are only sold after 9 p.m. The opening of three new locations was also announced around the same time. Yum! Brands reportedly acquired 13 leases for concept brands under its umbrella, meaning more Saucy locations could be in the pipeline.

KFC is taking a broad approach in revitalizing the brand and getting more customers through its doors. Apart from expanding into the chicken tenders segment and utilizing AI-driven restaurant technology, the chain is also taking a more straightforward approach: putting affordable meals on the menu.

KFC is starting with the $5 Bowls, a five-item menu of comfort food that includes mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, and the return of the chain's Mac & Cheese Bowl. These offerings are available in mild and spicy versions. Ordering a bowl with a medium drink currently rings in around $8.50 at some locations. The $5 Bowls became available at the start of the year and will stay on the menu temporarily for the time being.

The new menu is part of KFC's campaign to push lunch sales, especially during January, when many people restrict certain foods. Melissa Cash, the U.S. chief marketing officer for KFC, said these resolutions shouldn't have to sacrifice satisfaction. "Self-improvement can mean intentional indulgence, comfort and abundant value," she remarked in a press release. "2026 will certainly be the year of balance, and KFC has something for everyone to keep the focus on what matters most: –– you and the balance you deserve without compromise."

When KFC revealed its comeback plans in July 2025, the company released a promotional video titled "Obsession," which summarized the brand's intention to reclaim its status as one of the top fast food chains in the country. The video had a surprise guest: Canadian chef, author, YouTube food content creator, and actor Matty Matheson.

KFC didn't expound on its affiliation with "The Bear" actor at that time, so many thought it was simply a quirky guest appearance and highlight in Matty Matheson's life and career. In the video, Matheson played a bright-eyed cook under the close watch of a deeply serious Colonel Sanders. Fast forward to January 2026, and the chain finally revealed that the famous chef is behind one of the $5 Bowls introduced at the beginning of the year.

Matheson is known for whipping up hearty and filling comfort food, and that's precisely what he brought to KFC and its customers. Matty's Cheesy Nuggy Gravy Bowl is a meal of crispy cheese curds and chicken nuggets over a bed of fries, smothered in gravy. It's KFC's version of poutine, a beloved dish from Quebec that traditionally has only three ingredients: steak fries, cheese curds, and hot gravy. The fresh cheese curds melt onto the fried potatoes, creating this satisfying blend of comforting flavors and different textures in one forkful. Customers can expect all that, with some added chicken nuggets, at KFC.

KFC is doubling down on giving customers affordable value by bringing back $10 Tuesdays. This offer was part of the Taste of KFC Deals menu introduced in 2024. For just 10 bucks, customers could get an eight-piece bucket of fried chicken, perfect for a party of two to four. As the name indicates, the deal is only available on Tuesdays.

The original promotion included thighs and drumsticks, but the revamped rollout also offers eight tenders instead of boned chicken. The $10 bucket also comes with the sauces of your choice.

The 2024 deal was temporary, although some Redditors claim it has been a mainstay on the KFC mobile app. It would appear that availability varies by location. Rest assured that starting in 2026, $10 Tuesdays will have a wider rollout and could even stay on the menu for good. According to KFC's press release, the chain is leveraging the $10 Tuesday buckets as a weekly staple that customers can order when they get tired of meal prep at home.

KFC's comeback touches on all areas of business, from marketing and back-end operations to the menu and, surprisingly, merchandise. The fast food chain announced early in January its plans to release Bowl-o-Ties, the brand's playful take on Colonel Sanders' famous bolo tie.

Bolo ties are string ties originally made from braided leather. The traditional version features metal tips (sometimes both ends are joined in one metal tip) and is fastened around the neck with a decorative clasp. The Colonel sports a much simpler version that some might technically refer to as a Western bow tie: a black ribbon tied in a bow with the long ends tucked under the lapels of his white jacket. In a press release, KFC described the Bowl-o-Tie as "a bowl-shaped twist on the classic bolo tie." The company also shared that it will be available in stores in 2026.

This isn't the first time the fried chicken chain used Colonel Sanders' fashion accessory for marketing. In July 2024, KFC Canada launched the Bolo Ti(m)e campaign to promote the extended business hours of many of its locations. "This approach ensures a simple and engaging way to inform our audience about the updated operating times, reinforcing brand identity," KFC Canada's brand manager Jordan Sequeira said in an interview with Strategy.

KFC may be a world-famous name already, but the company is not slowing down yet. It plans to continue expansion efforts in Europe following the grand opening of its milestone restaurant in Rome in October 2025. "The new flagship in Rome stands as the largest and one of the most technologically advanced KFC restaurant in Europe to date," the KFC Global website shared. The location has nearly 11,000 square feet of floor space distributed between two levels. Located in the city center near the Trevi Fountain, it boasts a modern design interspersed with traditional elements that highlight Rome's culture. This KFC also offers Kwench, a specialty drinks menu featuring iced coffees, shakes, and lemonades in flavors that are specifically targeted toward Gen Z customers.

"The new Rome flagship is a cornerstone in KFC's broader vision to redefine quick-service dining in Europe," KFC further detailed. This could imply that future European locations will also mirror KFC Rome's scale, contemporary and localized design, and unique specialty menu.

As of October 2025, KFC has over 2,200 locations in 40 countries across Europe. The company plans to double that number in the next five years. It's bold and ambitious, but the company is determined to firmly establish the brand as one of Europe's leading quick service restaurants. KFC reportedly opens a new location every 3.5 hours, so this goal may not be as outrageous as it sounds.

The fried chicken wars have intensified over the last decade. Chick-fil-A may be in the lead, but smaller chains like Raising Cane's and Bojangles are among the fried chicken chains expanding and catching up in 2026. Overall, boneless chicken chains are outperforming brands that offer traditional, bone-in options, meaning KFC has to step up its game.

"We used to be an American icon. Somewhere along the way we stopped acting like one," KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie told Bloomberg. The chain had ranked third in revenue in the chicken fast food category in 2023, and it slipped down to fourth place in 2024. "When we became the number four player I think that was a huge call to action for the business," Tan-Gillespie said.

KFC is now reviewing its menu and banking on nostalgia to entice millennials and boomers. However, it also needs to attract Gen Z customers, who are the biggest fast food consumers in the U.S. today. Gen Z prefers tenders and boneless wings, which could explain why they constitute only 6% of KFC's current clientele, according to consumer data provider Numerator (via Bloomberg). Tan-Gillespie didn't reveal any specifics in her interview but made it clear KFC will try to keep up with the trends. The chain tested the waters in March 2025 with the limited-offer $7 Dunk It Bucket of Original Recipe tenders and mashed potato poppers. KFC may make the deal permanent or introduce other boneless options starting in 2026.

In March 2025, customers in Tampa, Florida, were delighted to find potato wedges suddenly back on the menu boards in KFCs all over the city. Some locations quickly sold out of the side item. The test was an apparent success, as the fried potatoes later became available nationwide in an effortless surprise rollout. KFC simply posted on X, "HERE, DAMN," along with a photo of a single, crispy potato wedge. The thick-cut seasoned wedges were a popular menu item first introduced in the '90s and available until their discontinuation in 2020. Five years later, KFC revived the side for a limited time alongside the Hot & Spicy Wings.

In December 2025, KFC returned to X with a poll asking whether customers would like the wedges to become a menu mainstay. The options included "wedges 4 ever" or "i like to crush joy." Nearly 80% of over 21,000 respondents voted yes. It was a fun and engaging way to generate social buzz, and fans didn't disappoint. "The fact they were removed at all needs to be investigated," said one X user in reply to the poll. Others shared that the wedges got them back in KFC's doors.

Reintroducing the wedges would be in line with KFC's nostalgia-driven marketing. Considering how vocal customers were in support of the wedges on social media, there's a good chance they could be back for good in 2026.

KFC announced several C-level hires throughout 2025. The first appointment was Scott Mezvinsky, who was promoted to CEO of KFC Global in January last year. Mezvinsky was previously president of Taco Bell North America and International. The following month, Catherine Tan-Gillespie was appointed president of KFC U.S. after less than a year as the country's chief marketing officer and chief development officer.

Later, KFC announced Tiffany Furman as the new KFC U.S. chief growth officer and Sarah Crow as chief legal officer. They have been with Yum! Brands for 17 and six years, respectively, bringing well-honed expertise into the leadership and management team. In September, Melissa Cash was hired as the new CMO, replacing Tan-Gillespie. Cash was Wingstop's senior vice president and chief brand officer before joining KFC. Her appointment was announced alongside Francis "Rico" Arrastia, the newly appointed chief digital and technology officer. He has over 27 years of experience in developing digital and technology solutions for improving customer experience.

2026 represents the first full year that KFC U.S. will operate with its new leadership team. It's a pivotal year for the chain after four consecutive quarters of decreasing same-store sales in 2024. The revamped C-suite surely has more plans to drive KFC's comeback era into full force.

It's refreshing to see a hugely successful international brand like KFC acknowledge its shortcomings and promise to bounce back. Newly appointed KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie embodies this straightforward approach, appealing directly to customers for insights on how to improve the brand.

"If people can give their ex a million second chances, I hope our fans can give us one," she said in a press release. In July 2025, KFC offered customers a free bucket of chicken in exchange for feedback on its app or website. The company has since had time to gather insights and strategize. If new offers, items, or campaigns are in the works based on the results of the Free Bucket On Us offer, we could see them implemented in 2026. Additionally, alongside its "Obsession" promotional video, the brand also released images of an unsmiling Colonel Sanders. "The Colonel would not be happy about our market share, and we're serious about reminding America exactly who we are," Tan-Gillespie said. "We won't smile until our customers do."

Throughout 2025, KFC has revisited its roots, revived beloved menu items, and introduced a new, affordable menu. It also ramped up social media marketing by partnering with foodies on TikTok. Nevertheless, it's probably still a long road ahead, and until further notice, Colonel Sanders will still be frowning.