KFC steers away from Gen Z-only branding

KFC’s push – KFC’s design chief says brands that try to win over Gen Z alone risk forgetting that tastes don’t stay fixed—just as the chain pushes a global overhaul of menus, drinks, and restaurant designs amid fresh U.S. momentum.

For a restaurant brand, it’s a hard question: who are you building for right now—Gen Z, or everyone who might walk through your doors later?

KFC’s global chief concept officer, Christophe Poirier, picked the latter. In an interview, he said too many brands are stuck in a single marketing target: “It’s all about Gen Z, Gen Z, Gen Z,” adding that KFC is not trying to become a Gen Z brand.

Poirier’s argument is blunt. “Gen Z won’t stay Gen Z forever,” he said. “At some point, the Gen Zs will be like me.” His goal is to keep KFC relevant across generations rather than chase one cohort’s definition of what’s “cool.”

That philosophy arrives as KFC tries to regain momentum in the US after years of pressure from rivals including Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s, and Wingstop. The chain has been working through a broader overhaul that includes new menu items, drinks, restaurant designs, and branding.

The idea isn’t to stop evolving once the brand finds its footing. Poirier framed it as a permanent stance: “We need to be in constant evolution to be forever young.” And he pointed to what he sees as the cost of becoming too narrowly focused on one demographic—brands can end up chasing the present instead of protecting their identity for the future.

The latest movement in the US has been encouraging. Placer.ai reported positive year-over-year visits-per-location growth nearly every month since August 2025. The research attributed those gains to menu innovation, value offers, and the return of nostalgic favorites like potato wedges.

KFC’s bet is also aimed at changing when people want to buy. Its new global drink platform. Kwench by KFC. includes boba refreshers. sparkling lemonades. iced coffees. and shakes designed to attract customers outside traditional meal occasions. Poirier summarized the logic with a simple point: “People drink more and more often than they eat.”.

There’s another layer behind KFC’s push: how customers perceive it when the competition gets louder.

Forrest Morgeson. an associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the American Customer Satisfaction Index. said KFC significantly narrowed its customer-satisfaction gap with Chick-fil-A between 2015 and 2024 before slipping in 2025 as competition intensified from newer chicken chains.

In the background. retail and restaurants are steadily shifting toward younger consumers. with products. campaigns. and loyalty programs increasingly shaped around Gen Z and other younger cohorts. Poirier is essentially challenging that instinct—not by denying younger tastes matter. but by arguing a brand can adapt to changing habits without surrendering what made it successful in the first place.

Nik Allen, Euromonitor’s global insight manager for consumer foodservice, said younger consumers increasingly seek customization, novelty, and “allowable indulgences” from restaurant brands.

Poirier’s counterweight is the idea that KFC should earn a seat at the table long after the current trend cycle moves on. He used Pixar as a model: movies that work for children while still offering adults something to enjoy. For KFC, the test is whether it can be shared between ages, not just marketed to one.

“If a 7-year-old kid goes to KFC with the 77-year-old grandparent, the grandparent should still find what he wants,” Poirier said.

In other words, the overhaul—menus, drinks, designs, and branding—doesn’t revolve around a single generation staying forever. Poirier’s message is that KFC’s survival depends on being able to evolve now while still remaining recognizable later.

KFC Christophe Poirier Gen Z branding Kwench by KFC US visits-per-location Placer.ai Chick-fil-A Raising Cane’s Wingstop customer satisfaction Euromonitor