It has been a winning year for KFC Chicken Nuggets and STARRY, PepsiCo’s crisp, refreshing, lemon-lime flavored soda. To celebrate, the pair are teaming up to recognize basketball star Jamal Murray’s championship, to relaunch the Jamal Murray Meal at KFC, and offer 27 leather jackets – a homage to Jamal’s jersey number – to loyal fans. The Jamal Murray Meal, available on the KFC app and KFC.com from October 19 to December 31, 2023, features 12 KFC Nuggets hand-breaded in Original Recipe® paired with a refreshing medium STARRY. The meal also includes Secret Recipe Fries, a biscuit, and Jamal’s favorite dipping sauces: Buffalo Ranch and Classic Ranch.

To be one of the 27 fans to score the rare leather jacket and rep their favorite player or receive an autographed pin set, fans need to go to the NTWRK app, pay a refundable $1, and be first to enter their information. The collection will be available on a first-come, first-served basis during a livestream episode on October 26, 2023 at 5:00 PM PT / 8:00 PM ET.

For the third consecutive year, Taco Bell was the fastest quick-service drive-thru in America, according to the QSR Drive-Thru Report. This go-around, it clocked a total time of 278.84 seconds, a pretty sizable gap from Carl’s Jr.’s No. 2 result of 303.74. Taco Bell was also the pack leader in average service time at 205.35 seconds, ahead of Wendy’s 229.5.

Taco Bell in partnership with MLB announced the return of its “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promo for baseball’s World Series, which starts on Oct. 27. The first player to steal a base will be dubbed this year’s “Taco Hero,” scoring free tacos for Taco Bell Rewards Members nationwide. There will also be the opportunity to win “Taco Bell for Life” in the form of a $15,000 digital gift card. That’s a lot of Mexican Pizzas and Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Sauce.

KFC is testing Smash’d Potato Bowls in Pittsburgh for a limited time. The bowls include KFC’s Secret Recipe Fries, mashed potatoes with a warm cheese sauce, bacon crumbles, and a three-cheese blend, and are available for $3.49. Customers can also add KFC’s new nuggets to the Smash’d Potato Bowl for $5.49. The nuggets were introduced in March as part of the intentional focus on recruiting younger consumers with menu offerings that are more relevant to them, such as its chicken sandwich, wraps and its $5 Mac & Cheese Bowl. The $5 Mac & Cheese Bowl was first introduced in 2019 and returned in 2022 at the $5 price point to promote a stronger value proposition. It was also brought back alongside the nuggets launch in March. Executives noted the product helped drive a positive 2% same-store sales comp. On a call to analysts, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs said it’s a value offering without “just discounting our core product,” which interested a wide array of consumers.

Since they first hit the menu in 2018, Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries—seasoned fries served with a side of nacho cheese dipping sauce—have been a top-selling, limited-time item. This year, the popular fries are back and there is something new to crave for Taco Bell lovers looking for a dairy-free option.

On October 12, Vegan Nacho Sauce will debut that customers can pair with vegan-certified Nacho Fries instead of the dairy-based nacho cheese sauce. This marks the first vegan offering to be made available across all locations.

KFC is going all in on the Deion Sanders experience at Colorado with a new commercial featuring the Sanders family. KFC has previously worked with the family to promote the Fill Up Box and chicken nuggets. Now the Sanders’ are promoting the new hot and spicy wings. Coach Prime is heavily featured in the commercial, along with his sons and current Colorado players, Shedeur and Shilo Sanders. The athletes both signed NIL deals to appear in the campaign.

Finger lickin’ good doesn’t just describe KFC’s fried chicken. The KFC Foundation announced that it is funding $1 million in community projects, making wishes come true for 100 non-profit organizations nationwide. The KFC Foundation’s Kentucky Fried Wishes program supports communities by funding development projects on the wish lists of non-profit organizations.

“We’re so inspired by the work of these incredible non-profits and honored to help serve joy by positively impacting hundreds of communities across the country with this funding,” said Emma Horn, Executive Director of the KFC Foundation. “With our Kentucky Fried Wishes program in its third year, we’re proud to double last year’s donation amount and help fund more community projects than ever before.”

Since 2021, the KFC Foundation’s Kentucky Fried Wishes program has invested over $1.6 million to support over 160 local non-profit organizations.

Taco Bell is exploring a new way to serve Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Testing of a Mountain Dew Baja Blast Gelato begins on Thursday, Aug. 31, at one location in Irvine, CA. This is the first time gelato has been on a Taco Bell menu. The test will last two weeks or as long as supplies last.

KFC’s newest offer is a $20 Fill Up Box, a box filled with four pieces of fried chicken, 12 chicken nuggets, fries, biscuits and sauces. It’s targeted specifically at families that might otherwise order pizza during the final days of summer break. “Pizza night can get boring and a bit cheesy,” Nick Chavez, CMO of KFC U.S., said in a statement.

The offer also gives customers the opportunity to try our nuggets offering a 10-piece nugget order for $5 at the same time. KFC sold 100 million nuggets in the first eight weeks it sold the product this spring, helping same-store sales rise 5% last quarter.