The Most Outrageous KFC Product That Never Hit Shelves

KFC is no stranger to food brand publicity stunts. Back in 2006, a KFC ad was visible from space. In 2016, KFCs across Hong Kong debuted edible nail polish that tasted like the franchise's famous fried chicken. That same year, KFC debuted another oddball product in the United States: fried chicken-scented sunscreen. The announcement was baffling. No matter how much one loves the mouth-watering scent of fried chicken, do you really want to smell like it? Probably not, but the product proved popular for the short-lived campaign.

KFC announced their Extra Crispy Sunscreen in a somewhat bizarre press release that stated, "the only skin that should be extra crispy this summer is on your fried chicken." Chief Marketer Kevin Hochman even admitted it was a silly product, stating, "While I'd love to tell you our customers have been asking for this, they haven't. In fact, I'm pretty confident nobody ever asked for this." The campaign's main goal was to make consumers more aware that there are two KFC chicken recipes: original and extra crispy, the latter requiring double breading and open frying.

The product was not just a novelty item but a functional SPF 30 sunscreen that provided genuine protection. It was supposed to smell like fried chicken, although some Associated Press reporters who tried out the product claimed the scent was lacking. Unlike the KFC nail polish, Extra Crispy Sunscreen was not edible and even included a warning label stating it was not a food product and meant only for external use

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Extra Crispy Sunscreen was a promotion that was never intended to be a real product customers could pick up on store shelves. Only 3,000 bottles were produced, which could be ordered through a KFC website where buyers had to fill out a request form. Orders were limited to one per household.

Despite the bizarre nature of the product, it actually took off, selling out within hours. What was the appeal? For some, the sheer novelty made Extra Crispy Sunscreen worth trying. Back in 2016, one Reddit user bemoaned the fact that they had missed their chance to snag a bottle, stating they were intrigued by the product's absurdity. In the comments, many users chimed in to say they wanted to try out Extra Crispy Sunscreen as well.

For those who did get their hands on a bottle, reviews were mixed. One user posted themselves holding up a bottle of the notorious sunscreen. Someone asked whether it smelled like chicken, and the user responded in the affirmative, adding the caveat, "But not in a good way."