Saucy by KFC

One of the latest ventures for Yum! was Saucy, a bold new concept restaurant backed by KFC’s world-renowned brand.

Here to elaborate on how Saucy is designed to delight the boldest generations of diners with a modern look and feel, complemented by a totally tech-forward experience, is Christophe Poirier, Chief New Concept Officer at Yum! Brands.

Christophe insists that to understand Saucy as a spin-off of KFC, the first step is to contextualise the new brand’s business purpose and mission arising from it, taken alongside its ambitious approach to disruption.  

“At Saucy, our primary business purpose is to delight customers with new flavour experiences,” explains Christophe. “With this purpose in mind, we have different ways of moving from that purpose to a mission. The purpose is where we want to go. The mission is how we get there. So, how do we take our purpose and translate it into a mission?

“We know that chicken is a growing segment. Sure, we aren’t the only business serving chicken – but it is the fastest growing protein product, not only in the United States, but probably around the world.

“The questions then are, do we go after chicken as a category? Do we go after chicken as a form? Should we go with nuggets, tenders or another product? Before we launched Saucy, we decided instead to pursue taste as our disruption to conventional practice.

“With a conventional approach, you are just fighting in the crowd. Our unconventional approach was to turn towards and lean into sauces. Here we opened up exciting new avenues regardless of the form our chicken dishes take – because the sauce becomes the core of our services.

“But our disruption is not limited to placing sauces at the centre of our vision and mission. We carry the concept of disruption even further by adding digitalisation and technology into the mix – and these were at the forefront of our model with Saucy from its very inception. In the spirit of changing the game, the first person who joined me on the Saucy journey was not a culinary connoisseur but a tech expert.”

Christophe pauses to emphasise that delighting customers with new flavour experiences is only part of Saucy’s business purpose – there is a corresponding determination to delight its team members, inspiring their work and elevating the brand with the passion and excellence this cultivates.

Here, Christophe highlights Saucy’s strategic framework, PINK, as it structures this two-tiered approach to the brand’s purpose of delighting both customers and colleagues alike.

“To delight both customers and our team members, we came up with PINK as our strategic framework,” recalls Christophe. “PINK stands for Personalised, Instinctive, Next and Kinetic.

“‘Personalised’ encompasses people, customers, team members – everybody. We want everyone to feel special in their interaction with our brand, and here personalisation is crucial.

“For instance, in our restaurants, we have dedicated, flexible relaxation areas for our team members to unwind and store their possessions. In our kitchens, we offset decision fatigue by enhancing our processes with AI, offering individual colleagues clear and timely instructions to make their lives easier. Here we have worked with strategic partners like Brahma AI Systems to ensure we have the best artificial intelligence technology at our disposal.

“In terms of our customers, we endeavour to know them as intimately as possible. Our Saucy app has 26 points of personalisation to get closer to our customers’ needs. If you prefer sweet over spicy sauces, your recommendations will reflect your personal flavour profile. The more customers interact with us, the better we can serve them.

“The ‘I’ in PINK stands for ‘Instinctive’ – a sentiment we extend to our guests and our team members alike. By partnering with companies like ROWE and Profitality, we have designed our restaurants and interactions with the brand to be a compelling, A+ experience.

“When you enter Saucy locations, it is so rewarding and easy to order, dine and work in our restaurants. From the way we design our physical spaces, like our kitchens and prep areas, to our app, the restaurant kiosks, QR codes, third-party delivery service mechanisms and multiple ways to touch our brand – we strive for instinctive excellence across the board.

“The ‘N’ in PINK is for ‘Next.” We don’t follow trends or look outside for inspiration. We follow our own path, and this stems from our obsession with customer and team member metrics – which ultimately informs where we look ‘Next.’

“‘K’ stands for ‘Kinetic,’ which is all about how we maintain our momentum and keep the brand moving forward. I have seen the pace of change escalate in my career with revelations like digitalisation, social media and innovation. Nowadays, change unfolds at a hyperbolic speed. Ultimately, I believe this boils down to how connected we all are.

“Within this context of change happening at a crazy pace, we realised we couldn’t stay still with the Saucy brand – we had to embrace a kinetic approach. Slow, sequential innovation has no place here. Instead, we recognise that the process of innovation has totally changed. Now, we test constantly, gauge if our experiments work, and feed the brand constantly on all fronts to validate these new ideas. If there’s momentum, we lean into this kinetic principle and run with it.”

With the PINK strategic framework front of mind, Christophe explains, the success of Saucy as a bold concept restaurant stems from how well the company integrates technology and convenience into the customer journey. 

“Saucy is a true multi-channel brand – anywhere and ‘anyware.’ We provide guests with a seamless experience whether they choose to dine in, pick up curbside, drive through, or order for delivery,” says Christophe. “This flexibility means we’re always within reach, wherever and whenever the craving strikes

“And when we say ‘any-ware,’ we mean it. Customers can engage with Saucy through self-serve ordering kiosks in-store, our feature-rich native app, or via popular food aggregators, ensuring they can access our bold flavours through the channels that best fit their lifestyle. This holistic approach allows us to meet our audience where they are – from the drive-thru lane to the palm of their hand – creating a truly frictionless, personalised experience.

“Our integration of technology and convenience into the customer journey, therefore, must be simple from the outside and complex on the inside.

“To use one example, we work with Flybuy by Radius Networks, a top-notch technology company that works with the biggest players in the US. Flybuy are key partners that provide us with cutting-edge AI-powered location technology to anticipate how long it will take a customer to arrive at our restaurant from their homes when they order to collect, so we only begin cooking at precisely the right time so the food is hot and fresh for their arrival.

“The same sentiment of seamless integration extends to our team members. We eliminate guesswork, interpreting and anticipating projected demands so they know exactly what to work on and when.

“For us, it’s the difference between symphony and cacophony. Every single instrument needs to play at the right time to create a harmonious, beautiful experience for both our guests and colleagues.

“Here, technology is crucial. Humans make mistakes, and that is part of our charm. And while technology isn’t perfect, it offers a level of accuracy and coordination unreachable for humans acting alone.

“By balancing delighted team members with excellent tech solutions, we cultivate an integrated approach which creates a symphony, not a cacophony, in both our physical and digital experiences as a brand – ultimately delighting our customers.”

While Saucy is a tech-first brand, the menu is also a core component of the delight it offers its customers. According to Christophe, one of the key ingredients for success at Saucy in this regard is to keep things fresh – and not just in terms of the produce it serves customers. Here, Christophe explains, menu innovation is paramount.

“Menu innovation, for me, is based on three principles: truth, trust and passion,” elaborates Christophe. “So we speak the truth in my team without any sense of hierarchy. We trust one another to discuss new ideas with an open mind. Lastly, we have a passion for finding the Saucy way to try these concepts.”

“But my strategic framework for menu innovation is not a new one,” admits Christophe. “In fact, it comes from Raymond Loewy’s ‘MAYA Principle,’ popularised in the middle of the 20^th century. This concept of ‘Most Advanced. Yet Acceptable,’ has been a guiding inspiration for our menu innovation at Saucy.

“For me, this is a brilliant concept because when you are embracing innovation, it helps to ask how far you can go without being intimidating or alienating the masses. This is particularly relevant when it comes to taste palates and experimenting with new flavours.

“Consider the concept of travelling the world of tastes, seeking to embed cultural staples such as chimichurri from Argentina, Indian chutney or creole from Louisiana. These flavours might not resonate as concepts with the masses in their pure form. In fact, they might be off-putting or intimidating because of the unknown element.

“But if we can pair these flavours with established ideas in people’s minds, we can make them more familiar, more reassuring and therefore more palatable.

“This is where our approach to creating innovative signature sauces comes in. We’ve explored hybrid sauces such as Chimichurri ranch, creole mustard, or spicy mango chutney with this MAYA Principle in mind.

“We’re taking that idea of discovery and innovation in our menu offerings and anchoring it to known entities for our guests.

“While we can be disruptive with our technology at Saucy, we have to be more incremental and considered in our approach to menu innovation, while still striving to stand out.” 

Wrapping up our conversation, Christophe captures the excitement permeating the Saucy brand as he and his colleagues look ahead to the future.

“I am an optimistic and excited person by default, but it is hard to feel anything other than positivity with Saucy and where we’re going,” beams Christophe. “Finding a concept that resonates with the market isn’t easy, but I thoroughly believe we have found a sweet spot with Saucy.

“For me, growth is an outcome, not a goal. What truly excites me is how we are constantly pushing out services to the next level, honing in on our own excellence without worrying about competitors, and watching the growth follow.

“At a more tangible level, I’m particularly excited by our growing use of AI. We already deploy it comprehensively, but we will only continue down this path – further improving our team members’ experiences, customer service and operations.

“Then there are the new products and sauces we will bring to life, something we all enthusiastically embrace at Saucy, which will be a staple for the brand in the years ahead.”

To learn more about Yum! Brands and Saucy by KFC, visit yum.com.

ADDED VALUE

Culture

For Christophe, the culture at Saucy is inspiring, exhilarating and a crucial cause for celebration.

“When you look at your assets and liabilities, the biggest asset for any company is not in the balance sheet but your people and culture,” says Christophe. “With this in mind, from day one, we have built Saucy with four pillars as our foundation: love, shine, wow and grow.

“Without ‘love,’ you cannot go anywhere in any business – it is an incredible engine, the most beautiful fuel you can drive on.

“When we say ‘shine,’ we refer to helping people cherish their significance. When our team members learn, grow, take pride in their achievements and feel like they are truly contributing – they will shine.

“We strive to cultivate the ‘wow’ factor with our colleagues and customers alike, whether this is through our onboarding processes, delicious tastes or our in-store experiences.

“Last but by no means least, we have ‘grow.’ When love, shine and wow all come together, we are positioning ourselves to grow naturally – as individuals, as a team and as a business.”

Shepherd leadership style

Christophe believes in leading with the best interests of his ‘flock’ front and centre.

“A shepherd guides, provides and protects,” says Christophe. “The shepherd leadership style is key for me, and I apply it every single day with my team and colleagues.”

Connect with Christophe.