KFC Singapore has kicked off Chinese New Year 2026 with a character-led social campaign, anchoring its festive push on Lady Huat, a fiery on-screen mystic designed to turn eating into a playful, ritualised experience.
Jaslyn Lam, director of marketing and food innovation at KFC Singapore, explained that the campaign aims to reframe the idea of “luck” during the festive period. “Chinese New Year campaigns often lean on familiar tropes such as fortune-telling or family reunions. This year, we wanted to empower consumers to create their own luck rather than wait for it,” she said. Lady Huat serves as a modern cultural translator of traditional practices, igniting action and encouraging fans to “Huat your mouth” with KFC’s La Zi Ji (Sichuan mala chicken).
Rolled out across Instagram from mid-January, the campaign unfolds through a series of short-form videos, each pairing a specific aspiration, from career prosperity to romance, with a performative greeting and a bite of La Zi Ji crunch and bites. Lam said the themes were chosen based on research into what Singaporeans care most about, ensuring the content resonates.
Rather than a single hero film, KFC opted for episodic storytelling, extending Lady Huat’s presence across multiple touchpoints throughout the festive period. “With a character like Lady Huat, it would be a miss to confine her to a single moment,” Lam said. “This narrative platform allows us to engage customers through stories that can unfold progressively, keeping the conversation going.”
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Beyond social content, the campaign extends into collectibles with the introduction of Huat Paws, a series of Fortune Cat blind boxes available with purchase. The five designs, including a secret Gold Fortune Cat, tap into blind box culture while reinforcing traditional CNY symbols of luck and prosperity.
Lam shared that the format was chosen to create “lucky chances,” offering customers a playful and personal experience with every unboxing. Fans who discover the secret design can post on Instagram or Facebook for a chance to win SG$888, with winners announced in March.
Other festive touchpoints include limited-edition Huat socks and red packets. The socks are available as an add-on with breakfast purchases or delivery orders, while red packets are given out with selected La Zi Ji boxes, reinforcing the campaign’s presence in both physical and at-home celebrations.
Product-wise, the campaign marks the debut of KFC Singapore’s first-ever La Zi Ji, offered in both bone-in crunch and bite-sized formats. The festive menu is supported by mala lotus root chips, a mango pomelo sago pie, and a range of CNY sharing buckets and feasts, all wrapped in prosperity-led naming and packaging.
According to Lam, the campaign also aligns with KFC Singapore’s broader strategy of blending pop culture, collectibles, and food. “La Zi Ji served as a key trigger for the campaign’s strategic direction. Paired with Lady Huat and custom Fortune Cats designs, we are tapping into themes of luck and prosperity that resonate during Chinese New Year. Strategically, the campaign creates multiple points of connection across food, collectibles, and social conversations, keeping both the LTO product and the brand top of mind,” she said.
She also added that Lady Huat could evolve beyond this campaign: “Creating beloved, long-lasting characters is something many brands aspire to. We’re excited to see how Singaporeans connect with Lady Huat this festive season and explore opportunities to evolve her character over time.”
Taken together, the execution shows KFC leaning into ritual, collectability, and serialised social storytelling, with the product complementing the campaign rather than leading it.
The Chinese New Year campaign follows KFC Singapore’s recent push into immersive, experience-led marketing. In November last year, the brand launched its “Chikin land” Christmas campaign, transforming five outlets into anime-inspired, Japan-themed destinations designed to tap into festive travel sentiment while offering a local, crowd-free alternative.
Supported by an anime-style short film and social media activations, the campaign blended in-store décor, interactive stamp stations and limited-edition merchandise with a Japanese-themed menu. It marked KFC Singapore’s first Christmas campaign built around a country-led narrative, signalling a broader shift towards pop culture-driven storytelling and multi-sensory brand experiences.
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