From the filings

HQ-led decisions

KFC

Quick service restaurant

KFC requires every restaurant to run a KFC-approved Back of House PC and software, with Yum Connect as the sole approved supplier for Kitchen Display System software — across 3,490 US locations, 3,404 franchised and 86 company-owned. With Chief Digital and Technology Officer Francis Arrastia at headquarters and a 4% to 5.25% royalty, the software buying center runs through KFC's own approved-supplier program.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

FDD key facts2026

FDD year	2026
Franchise term	20 years
AUV (Item 19)	—
Royalty	1.5%
Ad fund	5.8%
Addressable units	3,490
Decision level	HQ
Tech landscape	Mandated tech stack
Investment range	$2.41M–$4.80M
Procurement	Approved supplier
Tech fee	$180/mo
Company-owned units	86

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Read the full FDD

Live signals

Total units

3,490

3,404 franchised

Unit growth YoY

-4.328%

vs prior filing

AUV

—

Item 19, 2026

Royalty

1.5%

of gross sales

Ad fund

5.8%

national + local

Initial fee

$45K

per unit

Investment range

$2.41M–$4.80M

all-in, Item 7

Procurement

Approved supplier

from the filing

Non-compete

1 years

from the filing

Item 19

Claims

from the filing

Ongoing fee load

What the operator pays every month

The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.

7.3%of gross sales (FY2026)

15% reference

Royalty 1.5%Ad fund 5.8%

Mandated & recommended tech

The systems vendors compete with

Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.

DoorDashDoorDash

DeliveryItem 6

monthly. “Digital Orders” means orders collected from all Digital placed via digital ordering Orders. platforms, channels, and third- party aggregators, such as KFC.com, GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats, P

GrubhubGrubhub

DeliveryItem 6

e Payable monthly. “Digital Orders” means orders collected from all Digital placed via digital ordering Orders. platforms, channels, and third- party aggregators, such as KFC.com, GrubHub, DoorDash, U

PostmatesUber

DeliveryItem 6

rders” means orders collected from all Digital placed via digital ordering Orders. platforms, channels, and third- party aggregators, such as KFC.com, GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats, PostMates and other

Uber EatsUber

DeliveryItem 6

“Digital Orders” means orders collected from all Digital placed via digital ordering Orders. platforms, channels, and third- party aggregators, such as KFC.com, GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats, PostMates

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

24 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 7 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.

Accounting

Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

You must obtain and use specified computer hardware, software, and other technology components that meet KFCLLC’s standards and specifications.

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Item 11

KFCLLC will have independent access to the information that will be generated or stored on your Restaurant Technology.

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall also submit to KFC current financial statements and such other reports as KFC may reasonably request to evaluate or compile research data on any aspects of the Outlet or its business.

How the franchisor buys

Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?

Yes

Item 8

Currently, except for certain components of the Restaurant Technology and related services, you are not required to purchase or lease any product or service from KFCLLC or its affiliates in connection with the Outlet.

Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?

Yes

Franchise agreement

KFC will encourage the continuance of the Kentucky Fried Chicken National Franchisee Advisory Council (now incorporated within the National Co-Op) and will urge such Council to maintain in operation procedures whereby Franchisee may, as an absolute right, submit to Council members any matter to which, in any Council…

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Item 11

KFCLLC may change the required components and vendors identified above, and may add additional required technology components to the Computer System.

How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?

14180415

Item 8

During the fiscal year ended December 29, 2025, KFCLLC received $14,180,415 (or approximately 6.27% of its total revenue of $225,987,947) from direct sales or leases of products and services to franchisees and licensees.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

Currently, Mastercard pays Yum Restaurant Services Group, LLC an annual rebate based on the amount of payment processing fees paid on certain qualifying transactions at KFC Outlets accepting Mastercard cards.

Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?

Item 8

It is estimated that the cost of your required purchases from approved suppliers or that are subject to our standards and specifications will represent approximately 50% of your required purchases of products and services to establish the Outlet and approximately 90% of your required purchases of products and…

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

If you desire to purchase products from a supplier who is not approved by KFCLLC and if KFCLLC is willing to consider approving that supplier, you must provide KFCLLC with all information regarding that supplier that KFCLLC requests;

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Franchise agreement

KFC or its authorized agent shall have the right to request, receive, inspect and audit, at all reasonable times, any or all of the records referred to above wherever they may be located or at any other mutually agreeable location.

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Item 11

KFCLLC may change the Standards Library at any time.

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 11

You may not commence construction of the Outlet until you receive KFCLLC’s approval of the site.

Marketing

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Item 11

the Franchise Agreement requires you to spend a percentage of Gross Revenue on local advertising.

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Item 16

In addition, you must participate in any loyalty and gift card programs we establish if participation is required under System Standards.

Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?

Yes

Item 11

At KFCLLC's request, you must join and contribute to a local co-op for the marketing area in which the Outlet is located.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

Equipment, inventory, advertising materials, training materials, uniforms, packaging, gift cards, certain computer hardware and software (including, point of sale system, cashless payment system, kitchen display system, drive-thru timers, thermometer and oil probes, back of the house tablet and software/applications…

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase only from KFCLLC’s approved suppliers, and at your expense, all fixtures, furnishings, equipment, food products, and signs as KFCLLC may periodically require and you may not install any of these items at the Outlet without KFCLLC’s approval.

Payments

Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

People

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

Approved Point of Sale (“POS”) System – Currently, there are multiple approved POS systems as KFCLLC transitions all KFC Outlets to a new approved POS System; once the transition is complete, there will be one approved POS system.

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

KFCLLC will have independent access to the information that will be generated or stored on your Restaurant Technology.

Sales and CRM

Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

You must obtain and use specified computer hardware, software, and other technology components that meet KFCLLC’s standards and specifications.

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Item 11

KFCLLC may require you and your employees to attend and complete additional and ongoing refresher training courses, programs, and seminars to KFCLLC’s satisfaction at such times and locations that KFCLLC reasonably requires.

The filing answers no to 3 questions

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?Item 8
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Item 7
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?Franchise agreement

Who buys here

The buyer at this brand

The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.

Sales LeaderNational 1000+

Formal HQ procurement; C-suite sponsor + cross-functional committee + IT/security/legal; often PE-backed.

VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director

41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
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The vendor opportunity at KFC KFC runs 3,490 US locations — 3,404 franchised, 86 company-owned — under a 4% to 5.25% royalty and a 20-year initial term, as part of Yum! Brands alongside Taco Bell and Taco Bell Express. Franchised outlets fell 4.3% year over year, and Item 19 makes a financial performance representation.

Who controls software purchasing Chief Digital and Technology Officer Francis Arrastia sits alongside President Catherine Tan-Gillespie, COO Dennis Thuthuka Nxumalo, Chief Growth Officer Tiffany Furman and Chief Legal Officer Sarah Crow at the center of technology decisions. Every restaurant's Back of House and kitchen-display systems are set at headquarters and apply system-wide.

Procurement, renewals, and timing KFCLLC's approved-supplier list covers roughly 50% of a new restaurant's required purchases and 90% of ongoing purchases; a list of approved suppliers is available to franchisees on request, and franchisees may propose alternatives for approval. Renewal requires a renewal fee, current standing on monetary obligations, and no repeated breaches in the preceding 24 months, with KFCLLC's then-current agreement possibly carrying different terms. Franchised outlets fell 4.3% year over year.

How to read the KFC FDD The embedded PDF viewer below carries KFC's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document in full — Items 8, 11, 17 and 19 hold the procurement, technology, renewal and financial-performance language summarized here. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked target list across the rest of the franchise universe.

Questions vendors ask

KFC, answered from the filing

Chief Digital and Technology Officer Francis Arrastia leads technology decisions for KFC, alongside President Catherine Tan-Gillespie and COO Dennis Thuthuka Nxumalo. The Back of House PC, KDS software and drive-thru timer system are all set at headquarters through KFCLLC's approved-supplier program.

KFC requires a KFC-approved Back of House PC, printer and software at every location, and a drive-thru timer system with hardware and software from approved suppliers. Yum Connect is currently the only approved supplier for the Kitchen Display System software. Broadband must come from Comcast, currently the only KFC-approved provider.

KFC operates 3,490 US quick-service restaurant locations — 3,404 franchised and 86 company-owned.

KFC runs an approved-supplier list: equipment, inventory, food and beverage ingredients and other specified items must be purchased from suppliers KFCLLC approves and that meet its specifications, with a full list available to franchisees on request.

Renewal requires payment of a renewal fee, current standing on monetary obligations, and no repeated breaches in the preceding 24 months, with a contract that may carry materially different terms. Franchised outlets fell 4.3% year over year, making renewal-stage conversations more urgent than new-store pitches.

The embedded PDF viewer below carries KFC's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document in full. Items 8, 11, 17 and 19 hold the procurement, technology, renewal and financial-performance language referenced on this page.

Source

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The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

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Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

6 operators run 6 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit6

Top states by locations

CA	2
VA	1
IA	1
PA	1
NM	1

Ownership

The portfolio behind KFC

strategic_multibrand of Yum! Brands.

Sibling brands

Related Quick service restaurant brands

Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.