🍗Say Goodbye to Boring Fried Chicken

ORLANDO, Fla. – If you love fried chicken but are always looking for a new way to eat it, Saucy! by KFC is leaning into the flavor experience with its new Flavor Playground.

Ahead of Saucy! Fest on Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Waterford location, I got an early preview of the brand’s upcoming menu launches. The one-night community event will feature interactive experiences, live DJ entertainment, sauce flights and opportunities for guests to be among the first to try Saucy!’s newest combinations.

I recently spoke with Zachary Phillips, the store manager at the Winter Park location, and he explained that Saucy!’s biggest differentiator is the combination of KFC’s classic 11 herbs and spices with 12 different sauces. The idea is to give customers the familiar flavor of KFC chicken while letting them choose a sauce that creates an entirely different experience.

That variety is at the center of Saucy!’s new Flavor Playground, which also includes an innovative menu and competitive prices.

The new Sauc!es Combo comes with three tenders, fries, a medium drink and four signature dipping sauces inspired by the brand’s new Sauc!es characters: DJ Saucy!, Creole Capone, K-Ferno and Teri Yappi.

Those sauces include Saucy! Sauce, Creole Honey Mustard, Korean Sweet Heat and Sweet Teriyaki. But the brand offers 12 sauces in total, giving customers plenty of room to mix, match and find a favorite.

I tried all 12 sauces, including the new options, and my favorite by far was the Creole Honey Mustard. It had just the right sweetness, balanced by Creole spices that gave it more depth and personality. It was easily the sauce I kept going back to.

The Korean Sweet Heat was also amazing. It reminded me of Korean barbecue, with umami-rich soy notes layered into the sweetness and heat. I think it would pair especially well with one of Saucy!’s rice bowls, where the rice could give the sauce a hearty base and let those flavors really stand out.

One of the upcoming menu items I previewed was the Nashville Hot Tendies, which officially launch Aug. 25.

The tenders were super well-seasoned, with enough Nashville Hot flavor to make the dish exciting without becoming too spicy to enjoy. They also were not overly greasy, which can sometimes be an issue with hot chicken-style items.

For me, the balance was the biggest success. The Nashville Hot Tendies delivered the spice and flavor I wanted without overwhelming the chicken itself.

Saucy! is also launching a new Sauce of the Month program in September. Phillips told me the first featured sauce will be called Golden Jam, a mango-based sauce.

That rotating sauce gives customers another reason to come back and try something new, especially if they enjoy experimenting with different flavor combinations. It also adds another layer to a menu built around customization and discovery.

The brand’s new Dirty Sodas, part of its Beverage Remix Bar, are scheduled to launch Sept. 1. Together with the new tenders, sauce lineup and rotating monthly flavors, the additions give Saucy! a menu that feels designed for people who want more options than a standard chicken meal.

Saucy! Fest will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at 12195 East Colonial Drive. The first 200 guests will receive complimentary sauce flights, and the event will also feature Sauce Roulette, with a chance to win exclusive Saucy! merchandise.

In a market filled with fast-food options for fried chicken, it is refreshing to see a place keeping things fresh and new. With 12 different sauces, no two bites have to taste the same, making the experience feel like an adventure for your taste buds and a way to step outside the mundane.

That kind of creativity is what we need in the food industry: brands that never stop innovating, pushing boundaries and finding new ways to keep things fun for customers. Whether you prefer a sweet and savory sauce like Creole Honey Mustard, something with umami-rich soy notes like Korean Sweet Heat or a spicier tender like Nashville Hot, the new Flavor Playground gives you plenty of ways to find your own favorite combination.