KFC Getting Rid of Its Popcorn Chicken (Report)

All good things come to an end is a saying that’s been around since the dawn of time and when it comes to KFC, the adage rings especially true. The fast-food restaurant, best known for its 11 secret herbs and spices, is reportedly removing one of its most popular items in preparation to clear the slate for a new introduction later this year. According to a new report from the snack-tracking blog Snackolator, KFC’s Popcorn Chicken will no longer be available come March.

Instead, KFC is said to be introducing KFC Nuggets, an item the chain has tested in select markets over the past year. “Kentucky Fried Chicken is transitioning from popcorn chicken to nuggets in all restaurants nationwide and that is supposed to take place nationwide in March – so popcorn chicken is going to be a distant memory as the nuggs take over,” the Snackolator crew writes.

It adds, “They had been testing their new chicken nuggets last year and clearly decided there wasn’t enough room for the two of them… and the nuggets won the war! Not only are nuggets coming in March, but the Double Down returns as well… KFC has quite a March planned!”

The Double Down returning is also fresh news, with the “sandwich” becoming a viral sensation when it was first released in 2010. Instead of going the traditional chicken sandwich route, the Double Down features two breaded chicken filets as the bun. Bacon is then sandwiched inside the “bun” with cheese and a mayo-based sauce.

The sandwich was removed from the menu in United States stores beginning in 2014 and it has been unavailable stateside since then. A petition for the sandwich’s return was started five years ago and has garnered just 225 signatures as of the writing.

The Double Down has been available in some international markets since. KFC Italy brought the sandwich back in 2021 as a way to jumpstart sales at the height of the pandemic

“In this difficult year that we have all been experiencing due to the Covid emergency, we wanted to give a gift to KFC customers by relaunching the Double Down, the sandwich most awaited by our followers,” Paolo Toffano, Head of Marketing & Communication for KFC Italy, said at the time. “In the spot announcing the return of this iconic product, we continue the storytelling that centers on our founder and front man: a creative and communication plan that began a year and a half ago to share our products through facets of Colonel Sanders’ histrionic personality. It is the genius and the recklessness of the protagonist to suggest the recipe for such a unique sandwich, where the bread is replaced by two fried chicken fillets prepared according to the Colonel’s Original Recipe. This is a product that has had great success in its two previous releases and that we promote on digital channels, on our social channels and also on Twitch, the new livestreaming platform already widely used by young people and which is also establishing itself as an effective means of communication for the brand.”

Exact launch dates for both the KFC Nuggets and Double Down return have yet to be released.