KFC plans Cayan grilled chicken roll-out

The fast-food chicken restaurant operator has trademarked a Cayan Grill logo, which has already been used in Australia to push its first foray into healthier grilled chicken products.

In April, KFC launched grilled chicken in some of its Australian restaurants ahead of a full roll-out in early 2009. At the time, a KFC spokeswoman in the UK confirmed that it would be examining the results of the trial to see whether it could work in the UK market.

A single piece of KFC's grilled chicken in the US contains 60 to 180 calories and 3g to 9g of fat - less than half the amount of its original-recipe fried chicken. Last week, KFC - along with McDonald's, Burger King, Nando's, Subway and Wimpy - pledged to make its UK menu range healthier.

KFC positions its grilled chicken with its claim that it is 'seasoned with a savoury blend of secret herbs and spices', while in trial US cities, the packaging displayed the words 'Kentucky Grilled Chicken' on one side. The launch was backed by TV ads.

KFC UK is currently trialling a breakfast menu in the North-East and at its flagship Marble Arch store in central London. It aims go nationwide with the menu next year.

A KFC spokeswoman said: 'Currently, there are no immediate plans to introduce the Cayan Grill to the UK. We constantly research, consider and trial new products as part of our innovation platform.'

This article was first published on Marketing