Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim thinks the top chicken chains in the U.S. are focused too much on male diners.
Chick-fil-A. Raising Cane’s. Popeyes. KFC and Wingstop. All those brands appeal mostly to guys, he said. “Their branding is very male focused.”
So Kim has created a chicken brand more with female diners—and families— in mind.
The new concept Flock & Fresh debuted in Dallas earlier this month. It’s a fast-casual concept with a menu designed by a woman, Minji Kim (no relation), who is also a mom, Kim noted.
The menu is focused on chicken, of course, but there’s the option of crispy or grilled, with sides as tenders, sandwiches and salads. There are signature sauces, like curry ranch and sweet Korean. There are no fries (but there are house-made chips).
Fundamentally it’s about choice, he said. “Today I might feel like I want to indulge, but tomorrow, I might feel bad, so I’ll have more discipline,” said Kim.
But Kim said Flock & Fresh is also going for a level of quality not seen among the top chicken chains, including never-frozen chicken raised without antibiotics or hormones (something few of the top chicken chains still promise, noted Kim). The chicken is brined for 24 hours.
Chicken tenders, sandwiches and salads are on the menu. | Photo courtesy of White Unicorn Agency
This is something women tend to care more about, argues Kim.
In fact, when he was testing the menu with focus groups, Kim didn’t even invite any men to give feedback. He really just wanted to hear from women diners about what they liked (or didn’t like).
“We did not invite any guys because we wanted to create the flavor that appealed to women first,” he said.
The average ticket is roughly $12 to $13, which allows Flock & Fresh to compete with fast-casual peers, like Raising Cane’s, Wingstop and (arguably) Chick-fil-A.
Flock & Fresh’s interior design is also meant to appeal more to women.
Flock & Fresh interior in Dallas. | Photo courtesy of White Unicorn Agency
Even the bathrooms have female concerns in mind. They’re bigger, for example, and there’s one for families, specifically, with plenty of room to change diapers.
“They are very cute and the colors are right,” he said. “It’s not just the regular bathrooms that you will find in fast food.”
Is this a concept Kim plans to grow?
He’s not sure yet. He wants to see how it goes.
“I’m a guy who believes in growth,” he said. “But, obviously, when the time is right. I’m always ready, but I need to make sure my team is ready and the concept is ready.”
This is not the first time Kim has ventured into new segments.
He was once a franchisee of Smoothie King in South Korea, but he ended up selling that business and acquiring the chain in 2012, growing Smoothie King from about 500 units at the time to 1,260 in the U.S. today.
Kim also owns a fine-dining restaurant in Dallas called Nuri Steakhouse (where Minji Kim once helped lead the kitchen).
In addition, Wan Kim launched the casual-dining Korean barbecue concept Joa Grill in Dallas. But it opened in a neighborhood that later became unsafe, so the restaurant has closed and will move to a new spot, hopefully next year.
Smoothie King operates as a separate company, Kim noted. Nuri, Joa and Flock & Fresh are together under Restaurant K Holdings.
Kim is aware that Flock & Fresh is jumping into a very crowded segment, one in which sales growth slowed last year in part because of the increased competition.
But in a chicken tender-obsessed world, Kim believes it will be the women who will ultimately choose which chicken concept becomes the source of lunch or dinner.
“And we believe our modern women will bring their guys,” he said.