KFC Removes Less Popular Items to “Simplify” Menu

KFC U.S. is saying goodbye to some of the franchise’s less popular menu items as part of a “menu simplification.”

According to Yahoo Finance, KFC made the change to the menu in order to “increase efficiency, ease the ordering experience, and allow the company to better focus on innovation.”

KFC U.S. Director, Brittany Wilson, told Yahoo Finance that wings, popcorn chicken, Nashville Hot sauce, strawberry lemonade and chocolate chip cookies were removed from the menu because they “weren’t available on a national scale or that [they] haven’t necessarily been growing on a national sales mix.”

“It’s really to deliver our most popular products perfectly each time and to actually make room for new products,” Wilson added.

The change to the menu has reportedly had a positive impact on KFC franchise owner, Justin Stewart’s, restaurant. Stewart claimed it now takes employees less time to pack orders due to having less items on the pack line, therefore improving drive-thru rates.

Stewart also claims that overall customers are not upset about the removal of some menu items and the response has been “positive.”

On February 6, KFC introduced wraps for a limited time only. A product that customers had been requesting for a while. “We really received an outcry of requests on social media for us to bring back wraps,” Wilson said. The wraps are part of a 2-for-$5 offering, appealing to customers who are “value conscious” Wilson said.