010543 Church's Introduces New Products for Spring

Atlanta, GA - Church's Chicken, a division of AFC Enterprises, Inc., will add two new tastes to its menu this spring, Hot Legs and Smothered Biscuits, both echoing the Church's philosophy of offering customers “Big Pieces, Little Prices.” Hot Legs, extra large chicken legs covered in a flavorful sauce made from a blend of peppers, will debut this spring. Hot Legs, which are fried without batter, will provide a delicious addition to the Church's menu, which features its famous Southern-fried chicken.

Another new product, Smothered Tender Strip Biscuits, features two Honey-Butter Biscuits served open faced, topped with Tender Strips and then smothered with country gravy. Served in a specially designed bowl with a clear domed lid, the Smothered Biscuits line will feature the Tender Strips and country gravy year-round. “Church's will test additional toppings throughout the year to give customers more variety,” said Hala Moddelmog, President of Church's Chicken.

Both Hot Legs and Smothered Biscuits will be featured on new television commercials, in direct mail campaigns and in point of purchase in-store displays scheduled to debut in late spring. Each of these two new menu items will retail for $1.99 in most markets.

A new side item, Sweet Corn Nuggets, will be offered to the entire Church's system beginning late spring. Sweet Corn Nuggets are fried nuggets filled with sweet cream corn, a unique alternative to the traditional corn-on-the-cob. Sweet Corn Nuggets exceeded expectations during market testing and were especially popular with kids.

Finally, Church's will offer a new dipping sauce for the popular Tender Strips. Purple Pepper Sauce is a sweet dipping sauce with a little kick and is purple in color. During testing, customers favored Purple Pepper Sauce over Church's most popular sauce, Creamy Jalapeno. Roll out is slated for early summer.

Church's Chicken, the world's second largest quick-service chicken restaurant concept, measured by number of units, specializes in Southern-style chicken and side items such as mashed potatoes and gravy, okra, corn on the cob and its unique Honey-Butter biscuits. Church's is positioned as the New Value Leader, providing meals with large portions at low prices for price conscious consumer. Church's Chicken has more than 1,500 locations worldwide and had system-wide sales of approximately $878.8 million in 2000. AFC Enterprises is the operator and franchisor of more than 3,600 restaurants, bakeries and cafes in 28 countries, under the brand names of Church's Chicken, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Cinnabon, Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia. AFC's primary objective is to be the world's Franchisor of Choice by offering investment opportunities in highly recognizable brands and exceptional franchisee support systems and services.

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