MONIN and KFC are bringing a new dimension to quick service drinks through KWENCH, a range of sparkling lemonades and iced coffees designed to give customers more choice, more personalisation and another reason to visit. Tihomir Gergov, Managing Director of MONIN UK and Ireland, explains how a shared appetite for innovation has turned the partnership into a distinctive new beverage proposition.
In the fast moving world of quick service restaurants, drinks are becoming increasingly important to the overall customer experience. Consumers are no longer simply looking for something to accompany their meal. They want choice, discovery and flavours that feel distinctive and personal.
It was this changing expectation that helped bring MONIN and KFC together to create KWENCH, a drinks proposition encompassing sparkling lemonades and iced coffees, developed specifically for the KFC environment.
For Tihomir Gergov, Managing Director of MONIN UK and Ireland, the partnership began with a clear alignment between two businesses that understood the opportunity.
“The partnership began with a shared ambition,” he explains. “We both recognised that consumers are looking for more choices and more excitement from their drinks, particularly refreshing, customised beverages that complement the food.”
KFC brought its deep understanding of its customers, restaurants and the demands of the quick service environment. MONIN brought decades of expertise in flavour, drinks development and beverage innovation.
“By bringing these strengths together, we saw an opportunity to create a distinctive drinks range designed specially for the KFC environment,” says Gergov. “That shared vision became KWENCH.”
Complementary Expertise
For a collaboration of this scale to succeed, the product itself is only part of the equation.
KFC operates a large, fast paced restaurant network where consistency, preparation time and simplicity are essential. An innovative drink therefore has to work just as well operationally as it does creatively.
According to Gergov, it is the complementary strengths of the two businesses that have made the relationship particularly effective.
“KFC understands its guests and its restaurants. MONIN understands flavour and beverages. That combination makes the partnership work extremely well.”
Development of the range was therefore collaborative from the outset, with both teams involved throughout the process.
“The MONIN and KFC teams worked together through the process, from the initial concepts and flavour selection to recipe development, testing and implementation,” he says.
That approach extended far beyond deciding which flavours tasted best. Every aspect of delivering the drinks in a real restaurant environment had to be considered.
“Creating a great drink is only one part of the challenge. It must also be easy for restaurant teams to prepare, consistent across every location and quick enough for a busy service environment.”
The teams considered flavour, appearance, equipment, preparation times, staff training and the wider customer experience, ensuring that creativity never came at the expense of operational performance.
“Our ambition is to help KFC become recognised not only as a great food destination, but also as an exciting drinks destination.
Innovation That Works in the Real World
This balance between creativity and practicality is central to MONIN’s approach.
The business operates across coffee, cocktails, alcohol free drinks, lemonades and a broad range of other beverage categories, but Gergov says its role increasingly extends beyond supplying flavours.
“We work alongside our partners to understand their customers, operations and commercial objectives,” he explains.
That can include everything from identifying emerging consumer trends and developing recipes to training teams, supporting implementation and continuing to evolve menus after launch.
The ability to translate a creative concept into something that works consistently across a large estate is particularly important within quick service restaurants.
“A drink may be creative, but it must also be consistent, efficient and commercially viable,” says Gergov. “The combination of creative and technical expertise with practical support is what differentiates MONIN.”
For KWENCH, that philosophy meant developing drinks that felt exciting to customers without creating unnecessary complexity behind the counter.
“Successful innovation must be both exciting and practical,” he says. “We always begin with creativity, consumer insights and an understanding of emerging trends. However, every idea must also work in a real hospitality environment where speed, consistency, training and cost are essential.”
The strongest concepts are therefore not necessarily those with the greatest number of ingredients or preparation stages.
“For us, the best innovation is not necessarily the most complicated. It’s an original idea that can be delivered simply, reliably and consistently, and that the consumer wants to order again.”
Gergov summarises the principle succinctly: “Simple operation with a complex flavour.”
“Flavour is no longer simply about taste. It has become an important part of the complete customer experience.
Flavour as an Experience
The growing importance of drinks also reflects a broader change in how consumers engage with flavour.
Taste remains fundamental, but Gergov believes flavour now plays a much wider role in how brands differentiate themselves.
“Flavour is no longer simply about taste. It has become an important part of the complete customer experience,” he says.
Consumers increasingly want products that are visually appealing, memorable and capable of offering something they have not experienced before. Personalisation has also become more significant as customers look for products that better reflect their individual tastes.
“Consumers want products that are distinctive, visually appealing and memorable. They also want opportunities to discover something new and personalise their choices.”
That makes flavour a valuable tool for brands looking to respond to cultural influences, emerging trends and rapidly changing customer expectations.
“At MONIN, our role is to translate consumer trends into drinks that are exciting, but also accessible and commercially relevant,” Gergov adds. “It’s not simply about offering more flavours. It’s about helping our partners use flavour to create meaningful points of difference.”
Building a Drinks Destination
The ambition behind KWENCH extends beyond the launch of an individual range.
For KFC, the opportunity is to strengthen the role beverages play within the brand and give customers another reason to interact with the menu.
“Our ambition is to help KFC become recognised not only as a great food destination, but also as an exciting drinks destination,” says Gergov.
“KWENCH gives customers another reason to visit, explore the menu and personalise their experience.”
For MONIN, meanwhile, the collaboration demonstrates what beverage innovation can contribute to the quick service restaurant sector when product development is closely aligned with customer behaviour and restaurant operations.
Central to that relationship is a shared understanding of what each company brings to the table.
“The success comes from having clear shared objectives and mutual trust,” Gergov says. “Both teams understood what the other partner brought to the project.”
Open communication has remained equally important throughout development.
“When challenges appear, we address them together and remain focused on creating the best possible customer experience. That combination of trust, expertise and shared ambition has made the collaboration particularly strong.”
Ultimately, both businesses are looking beyond short term novelty.
As consumer expectations continue to evolve, MONIN and KFC intend to continue developing the proposition, balancing new flavours and ideas with the practical requirements of a high volume restaurant operation.
“Ultimately, we want to build something sustainable,” concludes Gergov. “That means creating drinks customers enjoy, supporting KFC’s wider business objectives and continuing to develop the range as consumer expectations evolve.”
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