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Kwench is built around 11 specialty drinks aimed squarely at younger consumers. The menu includes boba-style refreshers, thick shakes, sparkling lemonades, and iced coffees. Prices start at £1.99, with select drinks bundled into value meals.
KFC tested the concept in 38 Manchester locations and claims the results were explosive. According to the company, sales more than doubled during the pilot phase. Over 90 percent of customers reportedly said they loved the drinks, and half said they would visit KFC specifically for beverages.
That data explains why KFC leadership is openly acknowledging the real target audience.
Leo Sloley, KFC UK and Ireland’s strategy and innovation director, admitted the move is about chasing younger customers.
“Bold, trend-led drinks are playing a much bigger role in how Gen Z engage with restaurant brands, which is a huge opportunity for us,” Sloley said.
But Kwench is not just another menu refresh.
KFC is redesigning stores to feature dedicated drink counters, specialized signage, and even custom furniture. A Liverpool location opened with a full Kwench bar occupying the entire first floor. A flagship Rome store near the Trevi Fountain also features a standalone Kwench space.
KFC believes drinks can drive traffic beyond lunch and dinner, pulling customers in throughout the day.
McDonald’s already tried this and failed spectacularly
McDonald’s thought it had the same brilliant idea.
In late 2023, the company launched CosMc’s, a standalone drink-focused concept it believed would mint money. Five locations were opened. Millions were spent on branding, development, and operations.
Eighteen months later, CosMc’s was gone.
Every location shut down.
Consumers balked at paying premium beverage prices from a brand best known for burgers, fries, and the smell of grease. McDonald’s ultimately folded some of the better-performing drinks into about 500 regular locations, a move that is now producing results.
But the damage was done. The experiment burned time, capital, and credibility.
Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A learned different lessons
Taco Bell took a more cautious and smarter path. Instead of building standalone drink shops, it integrated Live Más Café drink stations directly into existing restaurants.
The strategy worked.
By 2025, Taco Bell had opened 31 Live Más Cafés and sold an estimated 600 million drinks. Beverages now make up roughly 62 percent of orders. The company is targeting $5 billion in annual beverage sales by 2030.
Chick-fil-A is also moving into beverages, but with a twist. Its upcoming Daybright concept will operate as a completely separate brand with no Chick-fil-A menu items. The first location is set to open in Georgia through a subsidiary called Red Wagon Ventures.
Wendy’s, Burger King, and Shake Shack are all expanding drink menus as well, hoping to tap into what McDonald’s estimates is a $100 billion specialty beverage market.
Specialty drink chains are eating fast food’s lunch
While legacy chains experiment, beverage-first brands are surging.
Dutch Bros grew from 500 locations in 2021 to more than 1,000 by the end of 2025. The chain plans to reach over 2,000 stores by 2029, with long-term ambitions of 7,000 locations nationwide. Same-store sales rose 5.7 percent in late 2025, and the stock climbed 22 percent year to date.
7 Brew followed a similar trajectory, exploding from just 14 locations in 2021 to more than 500 today. The brand recently secured a massive 160-store franchise deal with Flynn Group, the world’s largest franchise operator.
These companies built their identities around customizable, highly caffeinated, social-media-friendly drinks from day one. Customers know exactly what they are getting.
KFC may be repeating McDonald’s mistake
KFC’s problem is perception.
It sells fried chicken. Not artisanal beverages.
Installing a Kwench counter inside every restaurant does not suddenly transform the brand into a Gen Z drink destination. That was the same flawed assumption McDonald’s made with CosMc’s.
Specialty drink chains win because beverages are not a side hustle. They are the entire business.
KFC is asking customers to believe it can compete with beverage-only brands while still pushing buckets of chicken. McDonald’s learned how hard that sell can be, and it cost them millions before they admitted reality.
The competition for Gen Z dollars is only intensifying. Starbucks, Dunkin’, and boutique chains are all fighting for attention.
KFC has now placed a $45 million bet that it can win a war McDonald’s already lost. Whether history repeats itself is something investors and franchisees will be watching very closely.
