Cheesy, crispy and filling, the Kitchen Sink Grand’ito hits the mark to satisfy late-night cravings. | Photos courtesy of Saucy by KFC.
Saucy by KFC is barely a year old, but the Yum Brands concept has already expanded its menu way beyond its original “tendys,” fries and sauces. In fact, between August and October, 23 new items joined the lineup, said Diana Gahagen, associate manager of food innovation and supply chain strategy.
“When you have one core protein [the chicken tender] we can do it exceptionally well and then obsess over innovation,” she said. “And that obsession shows up in how we can cross over into multiple formats, whether it’s rice bowls, salads or grand’itos, while keeping customization at our core.”
Bowls are a new format for Saucy’s core protein: Tendys.
Gen Z is Saucy’s target customer, and customization is their jam. That demographic also tends to stay up later, so the most recent innovation from the three-unit chain is a late-night menu served between 9 p.m. and closing—which can go into the wee hours of 2 or 3 a.m. A star attraction on this menu is the new Kitchen Sink Grand’ito.
R&D takes off
During Saucy’s R&D frenzy of the last year, Gahagen developed a burrito platform called the grand’ito—a flour tortilla filled with the signature tendys (coated with KFC’s proprietary seasoning), rice or lettuce, and either a kimchi, caesar or ranchero sauce.
“Gen Z is always looking for something a little different. We thought ‘what are people craving in those late-night hours,’ and decided it was something cheesy, crispy and really filling,” she said. “And then, of course, we wanted to bring in that egg for a breakfast element.”
The Kitchen Sink Grand’ito is an oversized burrito filled with tendys, french fries, queso and a fried egg, priced at $8.99. And customers can choose one of Saucy’s 12 rotating sauces as a dip.
“We ideated the Kitchen Sink Grand’ito on paper and it came together really quickly,” said Gahagen. The basic elements were there from the beginning, along with sliced jalapeños. But when Saucy changed its queso to make it more flavorful, the jalapeño kicked up the spice a little too much, she added. So the jalapeños were nixed.
Except for the egg, which is a new SKU, the other ingredients in the Kitchen Sink are all cross utilized. And the egg appears in the other two late-night menu items as well—the Egg Sammie ($5.49) and the Egg Chick’ito ($4.49). The Chick’ito platform is taco-based and launched in May.
Among the 23 new items that expanded Saucy’s menu exponentially there was a pretty unique one: Brussel Bites. Fresh veggies are not a common sight on fast-food menus.
“Our guests loved our crinkle-cut fries, but we wanted to have another vegetable option,” said Gahagen. “We tested every battered and fried vegetable out there, but the Brussels sprouts were a clear winner.”
The fresh Brussels sprouts come in trimmed and halved, then they are flash fried—without a breading—and seasoned with the same “secret” spice blend as that used on the fries. Team members just portion and cook, proving you can have great flavor without adding complexity, she explained.
Brussel Bites are an alternative to fries as a side.
Guests can order the Brussel Bites as a side for $4.49; with a sauce they are $4.99. “I like them best with our Korean Sweet Heat sauce, while my colleague recommends Smokey Bacon Ranch,” said Gahagen.
The Bites are not only sized for dipping, they can easily be incorporated into Saucy’s rice bowls. And the fact that they have no batter or coating makes these veggies a healthier option.
Flavor-seeking strategy
From the beginning, sauces have been the engine that drives Saucy’s menu. The restaurants offer 12 sauces at any one time with a balance of flavor profiles: Six savory, three spicy and three sweet.
In developing sauce flavors, the principle of “MAYA” is Gahagen’s north star. “MAYA stands for ‘most advanced yet approachable,’” she said. It’s a principle she learned from Christophe Poirier, chief concept officer of KFC Global and a Yum Brands veteran. “Guests are craving more global flavors than ever before, but it’s comforting when these are paired with something they already love,” she added.
A roster of 12 rotating sauces encourages flavor exploration.
Gahagen cites the example of Peri-Peri Ranch, which recently cycled off the menu. It combined peri-peri peppers, which originated in South Africa but are popular in Britain, with all-American ranch sauce. In addition to the Brussel Bites pairings above, currently, the sauce selection includes Chimichurri Ranch, Jalapeño Pesto Ranch and Thai Sweet ‘n Spicy, along with less adventurous Creole Honey Mustard, Sweet Teriyaki and Saucy Ranch.
Most items come with one or two sauces, with each additional one priced at 39 cents. But to encourage guests to explore several tastes, Saucy offers a four-sauce Flight for $1.49.
“We are continuing to explore sauces that fit our sweet, spicy and savory categories and have a lot of new ones coming throughout 2026,” said Gahagen, but she couldn’t share specifics right now. “A few are staples, but we’ll pull some off and launch new ones and have others ready to come back,” she added. “We let our guests dictate that part.”
Reducing kitchen chaos
Saucy’s three locations are currently in Florida and the brand is about to open a fourth restaurant in the state. More growth is projected in 2026, and the culinary team will be innovating off the platforms already introduced.
Focusing on one core protein eliminates chaos in the kitchen, said Gahagen. So does cross-utilization. When she develops new items, she limits additional SKUs, but had to bring in certain ingredients to bring the new platforms to life. That includes salad greens, rice, Caesar dressing and the Brussels.
Cooking equipment is limited, too, with fryers the focus. A commitment to simplicity allows Saucy to obsess on innovation and quality, she said.
Fruity Refreshers are a platform for beverage innovation.
The beverage menu goes beyond the branded carbonated soft drinks to include freezes, refreshers, lemonades and iced teas. The team has been working on flavor innovation on the drinks side too, with a number of new items primed to launch in 2026, said Gahagen.
A number of LTOs are also in the pipeline, but the marketing calendar is not quite finalized yet. It will be interesting to see where Saucy’s innovation is accelerating to next.
