KFC
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KFC Corporation (KFCC),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> doing business as KFC (also commonly referred to by its historical name Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with over 30,000 locations globally in 150 countries Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.<ref name="YUM!-Brands-Feb-2018-10-K">Template:Cite web</ref>
KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders (1890–1980), an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant-franchising concept, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in South Salt Lake, Utah, in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast-food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. By branding himself as "Colonel Sanders", Harland became a prominent figure of American cultural history and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising to this day. However, the company's rapid expansion overwhelmed the aging Sanders, and he sold it to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey in 1964.
KFC was one of the first American fast-food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it experienced mixed fortunes domestically, as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with little or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to the spirits distributor Heublein, which was taken over by the R. J. Reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate; that company sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas, however, and in 1987 it became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. It has since expanded rapidly in China, which is now the company's single largest market. PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum! Brands.
KFC's original product is pressure-fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders' signature recipe of "11 herbs and spices". The constituents of the recipe are a trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard "bucket", which has become a feature of the chain since it was first introduced by franchisee Pete Harman in 1957. Since the early 1990s, KFC has expanded its menu to offer other chicken products such as chicken fillet sandwiches and wraps, as well as salads and side dishes such as french fries and coleslaw, desserts and soft drinks; the latter often supplied by PepsiCo. KFC is known for its slogans "It's Finger Lickin' Good!", "Nobody does chicken like KFC", "We do chicken right", and "So good". Template:TOC limit
History
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Sanders Court & Café
[edit]Harland Sanders was born in 1890 and raised on a farm outside Henryville, Indiana (near Louisville, Kentucky).<ref name="Whitworth-1970">Template:Cite news</ref> When Sanders was five years old, his father died, forcing his mother to work at a canning plant.<ref name="Klotter2005">Template:Cite book</ref> This left Sanders, as the eldest son, to care for his two younger siblings.<ref name="Klotter2005" /> After he reached seven years of age, his mother taught him how to cook.<ref name="Whitworth-1970" /> After leaving the family home at the age of 13, Sanders passed through several professions with mixed success.<ref name="celebritychef3">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1930, Sanders took over a Shell filling station on U.S. Route 25 just outside North Corbin, Kentucky, a small town on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains.<ref name="Ozersky2012">Template:Cite book</ref> It was here that he first served to travelers the recipes that he had learned as a child: fried chicken and other dishes such as steaks and country ham.<ref name="Ozersky2012" /> After four years of serving from his own dining room table, Sanders purchased the larger filling station on the other side of the road and expanded to six tables.<ref name="Aaseng2001">Template:Cite book</ref> By 1936, this had proven successful enough for Sanders to be given the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon.<ref name="Smith2011">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1937 he expanded his restaurant to 142 seats and added a motel he purchased across the street, naming it Sanders Court & Café.<ref name="Hollis1920">Template:Cite book</ref>
Sanders was unhappy with the 35 minutes it took to prepare his chicken in an iron frying pan, but he refused to deep fry the chicken, which he believed lowered the quality of the product.<ref name="Sanders-1974">Template:Cite book</ref> If he pre-cooked the chicken in advance of orders, there was sometimes wastage at day's end.<ref name="Whitworth-1970" /> In 1939, the first commercial pressure cookers were released onto the market, mostly designed for steaming vegetables.<ref name="Binney2012">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> Sanders bought one and modified it into a pressure fryer, which he then used to fry chicken.<ref name="history" /> The new method reduced production time to be comparable with deep frying while, in the opinion of Sanders, retaining the quality of pan-fried chicken.<ref name="Sanders-1974" />
"Original Recipe" and franchising
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In July 1940, Sanders finalized what came to be known as his "Original Recipe" of 11 herbs and spices.<ref name=july1940>Template:Cite news</ref> Although he never publicly revealed the recipe, he said the ingredients included salt and pepper and that the rest "stand on everybody's shelf".<ref name="Kleber1992">Template:Cite book</ref> After being recommissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby, Sanders began to dress the part, growing a goatee, wearing a black frock coat (later switched to a white suit) and a string tie and referring to himself as "the Colonel".<ref name="Kleber1992" /> His associates went along with the title change, "jokingly at first and then in earnest", according to biographer Josh Ozersky.<ref name="Ozersky">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1952, Sanders franchised his recipe to his friend Pete Harman of South Salt Lake, Utah, the operator of one of the city's largest restaurants.<ref name="mashed">Template:Cite news</ref> The Sanders Court & Café generally served travelers, so when the route planned in 1955 for Interstate 75 bypassed his properties, Sanders sold them and traveled the US to franchise his recipe to restaurant owners.<ref name="JakleSculle1999">Template:Cite book</ref> Independent restaurants would pay four (later five) cents on each chicken as a franchise fee in exchange for Sanders' recipe and the right to feature it on their menus and use his name and likeness for promotional purposes.<ref name="Liddle, Alan-1996" />
Don Anderson, a sign painter hired by Harman, coined the name "Kentucky Fried Chicken".<ref name="Liddle, Alan-1990" /> For Harman, the addition of KFC was a way of differentiating his restaurant from competitors; a product from Kentucky was exotic and evoked imagery of Southern hospitality.<ref name="Liddle, Alan-1990" /> Harman trademarked the phrase "It's finger lickin' good", which eventually became the company slogan.<ref name="Liddle, Alan-1996" /> He also introduced the "bucket meal" in 1957 (14 pieces of chicken, five bread rolls and a pint of gravy in a cardboard bucket).<ref name=Darden1>Template:Cite book</ref> Serving their signature meal in a paper bucket was to become an iconic feature of the company.<ref name=Darden1 />
By 1963, there were 600 KFC restaurants, making the company the largest fast food operation in the United States.<ref name="JakleSculle1999" /> KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the dominance of the hamburger.<ref name="Smith2007">Template:Cite book</ref>
With significant growth in tow, the fledgling Kentucky Fried Chicken decided in 1964 that they would begin offering franchise opportunities beyond the Atlantic, and landed on the United Kingdom as its entry point into Europe. As such, the first British KFC eatery opened its doors at 92 Fishergate in Preston, Lancashire, on May 1, 1965, and still operates today.
Pat Grace met with Sanders at his holiday home near Toronto and agreed to franchise the brand in Ireland. In 1970 Grace returned to Ireland after a number of years in Canada to open his first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Phibsboro shopping center in Dublin. Eventually he opened another six restaurants located in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. After disagreements over cost cutting with KFC management in the early 1980s, the Irish restaurants were renamed to Pat Grace's Famous Fried Chicken reportedly retaining the original recipe. These stores were closed in the late 1980s. Pat Grace went on to wholesale the chicken spice blend under the brand Grace's Perfect Blend.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sale and global expansion
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In 1964, Sanders sold KFC to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey for US$2 million (around US$17 million in 2020).<ref name="Smith2011" /> The contract included a lifetime salary for Sanders and the agreement that he would be the company's quality controller and trademark.<ref name="Cottreli-1980" /> The chain had reached 3,000 outlets in 48 countries by 1970.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In July 1971, Brown sold the company to the Connecticut-based Heublein, a packaged food and drinks corporation, for US$285 million (around US$1.8 billion in 2020).<ref name="Barmash-1971" /> Sanders died in 1980, his promotional work making him a prominent figure in American cultural history.<ref name="Smith2007" /> By the time of his death, there were an estimated 6,000 KFC outlets in 48 countries worldwide, with $2 billion worth of sales annually.<ref name="washpostobit">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1982, Heublein was acquired by R. J. Reynolds, the tobacco giant.<ref name="Darden1" /> In July 1986, Reynolds announced the sale of KFC to PepsiCo for $850 million (around US$2.0 billion in 2020).<ref name="Stevenson-1986" /> The actual sale took place in early October for $840 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> PepsiCo made the chain a part of its restaurants division alongside Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.<ref name="Brooks, Nancy Rivera-1986" /> KFC entered the Chinese market in November 1987, with an outlet in Beijing.<ref name="Darden1" />
In 1991, the KFC name was officially adopted, although it had already been widely known by that initialism.<ref name="Seth Stevenson-2004" /> Kyle Craig, president of KFC U.S., admitted the change was an attempt to distance the chain from the unhealthy connotations of "fried".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The early 1990s saw a number of successful major product launches, including spicy "Hot Wings" (launched in 1990), popcorn chicken (1992) and, internationally, the "Zinger", a spicy chicken fillet sandwich (1993).<ref name="newitems">Template:Cite news</ref> By 1994 KFC had 5,149 outlets in the US and 9,407 overall, with over 100,000 employees.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In August 1997, PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as a public company valued at US$4.5 billion (around US$7.3 billion in 2020).<ref name="Chicago Tribune-1997" /> The new company was named Tricon Global Restaurants and, at the time, had 30,000 outlets and annual sales of US$10 billion (around US$16 billion in 2020), making it second in the world only to McDonald's.<ref name="New York Times-1997" /> Tricon was renamed Yum! Brands in May 2002.<ref name="tricontoyum">Template:Cite news</ref>
On March 31, 2011, Priszm, owner of KFC in Canada, went into bankruptcy protection in Ontario and British Columbia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
By 2015, KFC was struggling, having lost business to other retailers and being surpassed by Chick-fil-A as the leading chicken retailer in the US three years previously. The company launched a new initiative with a plan to revamp its packaging, decor and uniforms and expand its menu. Additionally, beginning in May 2015, a new series of US advertisements was launched featuring Darrell Hammond as Colonel Sanders.<ref name="2015revamp">Template:Cite news</ref> In a planned rotation of actors,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, George Hamilton and Rob Riggle portrayed Sanders in similar ads through the fall of 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 2018, country music icon Reba McEntire played the first female Colonel Sanders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Before leaving as CEO in 2021, Andrea Zahumensky told Ad Age the "brand assets that we're so lucky to have" were the bucket, the three stripes and the full name Kentucky Fried Chicken. All of these were being used more by the chain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Australia rebranded KFC back to its original name, "Kentucky Fried Chicken" in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Operations
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KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, one of the largest restaurant companies in the world. KFC had sales of $23 billion in 2013.<ref name=yumpresentation>Template:Cite book</ref> KFC is incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law,<ref name="thimmesch">Template:Cite journal</ref> and has its headquarters at 1441 Gardiner Lane, Louisville, Kentucky, in a three-story colonial style building known colloquially as the "White House" due to its resemblance to the US president's home.<ref name="Kleber2000" /><ref name=storey>Template:Cite news</ref> The headquarters contain executive offices and the company's research and development facilities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yum! Brands plans to move the KFC headquarters to Plano, Texas, in 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Products
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KFC's core product offering is pressure fried on-the-bone chicken pieces seasoned with Colonel Harland Sanders' "Original Recipe" of 11 herbs and spices.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The product is typically available in either two- or three-piece individual servings or in a family size cardboard bucket typically holding between six and 16 chicken pieces. In territories that follow the system handed down by Colonel Sanders, such as Canada and the UK, each chicken is divided into nine different cuts (two drumsticks, two thighs, two wings, two breast pieces and one keel);<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> however, the United States now uses an eight-piece cut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The chicken is hand-breaded at individual KFC outlets with wheat flour mixed with seasoning in a two- to four-minute process.<ref name=Balakrishnan132>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ceomag>Template:Cite news</ref> It is then pressure fried for between seven and 10 minutes (the timing differs between countries) in oil at 185 degrees Celsius.<ref name=Balakrishnan132 /><ref name=cooktemp>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=howitsmade>Template:Cite news</ref> Following this, the chicken is left to stand for 5 minutes in order for it to sufficiently cool before it is placed in the warming oven.<ref name=Balakrishnan132 /> It is KFC policy to discard chicken if it has not been sold within 90 minutes in order to ensure freshness.<ref name=Balakrishnan132 /> The frying oil varies regionally and versions used include sunflower, soybean, rapeseed and palm oil.<ref name=steyn>Template:Cite news</ref> A KFC executive stated that the taste of the chicken will vary between regions depending on the oil variety used and whether the chicken has been corn-fed or wheat-fed.<ref name=steyn />
As well as its core chicken on the bone offering, KFC's major products include chicken burgers (including the Zinger and the Tower); wraps ("Twisters" and "Boxmasters"); and a variety of finger foods, including crispy chicken strips and hot wings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Popcorn chicken, which consists of bite-sized pieces of fried chicken, is one of the most widely available KFC products.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In some locations, such as in Australia, Belarus, Malaysia and South Africa, chicken nuggets are also sold.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
McCormick & Company is KFC's largest supplier of sauces, seasonings and marinades and is a long-term partner in new product development.<ref name=ceomag />
Due to the company's previous relationship with PepsiCo, most territories supply PepsiCo products, but exceptional territories include Barbados, Greece, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania,<ref name=romaniadrinks>Template:Cite web</ref> South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia (since 2019),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Singapore (since 2022)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Malaysia (since 2022)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which stock drinks supplied by The Coca-Cola Company, and Aruba, which stocks RC Cola from the Cott Corporation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=romaniadrinks/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Peru, the locally popular Inca Kola is sold.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Launched in 2009, the Krusher/Krushem range of frozen beverages containing "real bits" such as Kit Kat, Oreo and strawberry shortcake is available in over 2,000 outlets.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Egg custard tart is a popular dessert worldwide, but other items include ice cream sundaes and tres leches cake in Peru.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2012, the "KFC AM" breakfast menu began to be rolled out internationally, including such items as pancakes, waffles and porridge, as well as fried chicken.<ref name=jargon>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On August 27, 2019, KFC tested meatless boneless wings and nuggets in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In February 2023, Kentucky Fried Chicken in Australia announced that several items would no longer be sold in their menu, including wings, popcorn chicken, Nashville hot sauce and strawberry lemonade.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref>
The 11 herbs and spices
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Sanders' Original Recipe of "11 herbs and spices" is one of the best known trade secrets in the catering industry.<ref name="Chartrand">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The recipe is not patented, because patent law requires public disclosure of an invention and provides protection only for a strictly limited term, whereas trade secrets can remain the intellectual property of their holders in perpetuity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A copy of the recipe, signed by Sanders, is held inside a safe inside a vault in KFC's Louisville headquarters, along with 11 vials containing the herbs and spices.<ref name="Brady, Diane-2012" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> To maintain the secrecy of the recipe, half of it is produced by Griffith Laboratories before it is given to McCormick, who add the second half.<ref name=crossan>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1999, a couple who bought the house formerly occupied by Colonel Sanders found scribbled notes purported to be the secret recipe. Initially, KFC wanted to file a lawsuit against the couple to stop an auction of the notes but, by early 2001, it dropped the lawsuit, claiming the scribbled notes are "nowhere close" to the original recipe.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Joe Ledington of Kentucky, a nephew by marriage of Colonel Sanders, claimed to have found a copy of the original KFC fried chicken recipe on a handwritten piece of paper in an envelope in a scrapbook. In August 2016, Chicago Tribune staffers conducted a cooking test of this recipe and claimed after a few attempts that, with the addition of the MSG flavor-enhancer Ac'cent, they produced fried chicken which tasted "indistinguishable" from the chicken they purchased at KFC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear
Regionalized menus
[edit]KFC adapts its menu internationally to suit regional tastes and there are over 300 KFC menu items worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Some locations, such as the UK and the US, sell grilled chicken.<ref name=brazer>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name=grilled>Template:Cite news</ref> In predominantly Islamic countries, the chicken served is halal.<ref name=Balakrishnan132 /> In Asia,Template:Vague there is a preference for spicy foods, such as the Zinger chicken burger.<ref name="Chu, Kathy-2012" /> In many international markets, the seasoning used for the core chicken pieces product is available as a hot and spicy version as an alternative to the classic KFC recipe. The hot and spicy coating, as well as having a spicier flavour, also has a crispy consistency. In Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, a grilled chicken known as "Smoky Red" is available. KFC locations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam offer a roasted option known as Flava Crava. KFC's menu in China includes, among other items incorporating Chinese food items, rice bowls, noodle dishes, and chicken prepared in the style of Peking duck.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some locations in the US sell fried chicken livers and gizzards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A small number of US outlets offer an all-you-can-eat buffet option with a limited menu.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Value menu items are sold under the "Streetwise" name in locations such as Canada, Nigeria, South Africa and Mauritius.<ref name=streetwise>Template:Cite news</ref> Side dishes often include French fries, coleslaw, barbecue baked beans, corn on the cob, mashed potato, bread rolls and American biscuits.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Salads include the bean salad, the Caesar salad and the garden salad.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a number of territories, KFC sells onion rings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In most of Asia, several Sub-Saharan Africa and Pacific markets, rice based side dishes are often sold.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Greece and Bulgaria, potato wedges are sold instead of French fries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In a number of Eastern European locations and Portugal, beer is offered in addition to soft drinks.<ref name=russiabeer>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=port>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2023 KFC branches in UK and Ireland introduced new 'signature fries' (fries coated in herbs and spice) in an attempt to improve the taste of the fries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Hot wings and fries served in paper buckets
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Hot wings menu set sold in Berlin
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Hot & spicy chicken, colonel rice, coleslaw and nuggets in Malaysia
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Spaghetti and gravy as sold in the Philippines
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KFC century eggs and pork congee sold in China in breakfast hours only
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Equipment
[edit]KFC initially used stove-top covered cooking pots to fry its chicken.<ref name=shelton>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1960s, the officially recommended model was the L S Hartzog developed "KFC 20-Head Cooker", a large device that cost $16,000.<ref name=winston>Template:Cite web</ref> The Hartzog model had no oil filtration system, meaning that filtering had to be done manually, and the pressure fryers occasionally exploded often harming employees.<ref name=shelton /> In 1969, inventor and engineer Winston L. Shelton developed the "Collectramatic" pressurized fryer to overcome the problems KFC faced in quickly frying chicken to meet growing customer demand. The Collectramatic used precision time and temperature controls and self-filtered the cooking oil – all while meeting Colonel Sanders' high standards.<ref name=shelton /> Fred Jeffries, then vice president of purchasing at KFC, claimed that the invention helped fuel the company's rapid expansion and success:
There's no way it (KFC) could have grown as it did without the Collectramatic. Stores were doing about $200,000 a year in sales on average with the pots...but they could never have done the $900,000 a year it became without Win's fryer. He (Shelton) helped set the stage for that with true engineering thinking.<ref name=shelton />
Although a number of franchisees bought the Collectramatic, which had the support of Colonel Sanders from 1970 onwards, John Y. Brown Jr. had given tacit approval to franchisees to exclusively use the older L S Hartzog fryer, saying "Though those old pots were damn dangerous, at least we knew they worked! I was mostly afraid these new fryers would break down in the middle of business."<ref name=shelton /> Brown warned franchisees that they were in violation of their contract if they used the Collectramatic.<ref name=shelton /> Brown held his ground on the issue until he learned that his father, John Y. Brown Sr., who owned multiple KFC franchises, was successfully using the Collectramatic in every franchise he owned.<ref name=shelton /> The issue was eventually resolved after Heublein purchased KFC, acquired Hartzog and nullified the contract.<ref name=winston /> The Collectramatic has been an approved pressure fryer for KFC from 1972 onwards.<ref name=winston />
From 2013 onwards, KFC has been transitioning from using Collectramatic cookers to pressure fryers produced by Henny Penny, which supplies KFC with various equipment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 'Velocity' series of pressure fryers includes increased load capacity, automatic oil filtration and increased oil longevity.
Advertising
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Colonel Sanders was a key component of KFC advertising until his death in 1980. Despite his death, Sanders remains a key icon of the company as an "international symbol of hospitality".<ref name=harvardbiz>Template:Cite book</ref> Early official slogans for the company included "North America's Hospitality Dish" (from 1956) and "We fix Sunday dinner seven nights a week".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The "finger lickin' good" slogan was used from 1956 and went on to become one of the best-known slogans of the 20th century.<ref name="Momen Putrym, Goldie-2010" /> The trademark expired in the US in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first KFC logo was introduced in 1952 and featured a "Kentucky Fried Chicken" typeface and a logo of the Colonel.<ref name=logohist>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1962, Dave Thomas took Colonel Sanders' bucket and turned it into a sign<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> that revolved in a circular motion in front of almost every American KFC outlet.<ref>Carpenter, B. (2004). Dave Thomas. In W. L. O'Neill & K. T. Jackson (Eds.), The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives (2004 ed.). Charles Scribner's Sons.</ref>
Advertising played a key role at KFC after it was sold by Sanders and the company began to advertise on US television with a budget of US$4 million in 1966.<ref name=rood>Template:Cite news</ref> In order to fund nationwide advertising campaigns, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Advertising Co-Op was established, giving franchisees 10 votes and the company three when deciding on budgets and campaigns. In 1969, KFC hired its first national advertising agency, Leo Burnett.<ref name=Darden1 /> A notable Burnett campaign in 1972 was the "Get a bucket of chicken, have a barrel of fun" jingle, performed by Barry Manilow.<ref name=Darden1 /> By 1976, KFC was one of the largest advertisers in the US.<ref name="Georgescu2005">Template:Cite book</ref>
Controversies and criticism
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Since the beginning of the 21st century, fast food has been criticized for its animal welfare record, its links to obesity and its environmental impact.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation (2002) and Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me (2004) reflected these concerns.<ref name="Liddle, Alan-1990" /> Since 2003, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has protested KFC's choice of poultry suppliers worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The exception is KFC Canada, which signed an agreement pledging to only use "animal-friendly" suppliers.<ref name="WilliamsChampion2011">Template:Cite book</ref> President of KFC's US division Gregg Dedrick said PETA mischaracterized KFC as a poultry producer rather than a purchaser of chickens.<ref name="Swann2010">Template:Cite book</ref> In 2008, Yum! stated: "[As] a major purchaser of food products, [Yum!] has the opportunity and responsibility to influence the way animals supplied to us are treated. We take that responsibility very seriously, and we are monitoring our suppliers on an ongoing basis."<ref name=an08>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 2006, Greenpeace accused KFC Europe of sourcing the soya bean for its chicken feed from Cargill, which had been accused of clearing large swathes of the Amazon rainforest in order to grow the crop.<ref name=cargill>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2010, according to The Guardian, "in the US where fried chicken remains closely associated with age-old racist stereotypes about black people in the once segregated south", KFC Australia aired the 30-second promotion on television named "KFC's cricket survival guide" which shows a white cricket fan surrounded by black fans from the opposing team. The television announcer asks, "Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" The fan passes around his "bucket of KFC", even though the commercial was intended for an Australian audience, which found its way to social media in the United States, prompting sharp disapproval. KFC Australia made a statement to the fact the commercial was "misinterpreted by a segment of people in the US" and it was a "light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team" and "The ad was reproduced online in the US without KFC's permission, where we are told a culturally-based stereotype exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism...We unequivocally condemn discrimination of any type and have a proud history as one of the world's leading employers for diversity".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2012, Greenpeace accused KFC of sourcing paper pulp for its food packaging from Indonesian rainforest wood.<ref name=rainforest>Template:Cite news</ref> Independent forensic tests showed that some packaging contained more than 50 percent mixed tropical hardwood fiber, sourced from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).<ref name="Businessweek-2012">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> APP said such fiber can be found in recycled paper, or: "It can also come from tree residues that are cleared, after a forest area has become degraded, logged-over or burned, as part of a sustainable development plan. APP has strict policies and practices in place to ensure that only residues from legal plantation development on degraded or logged-over forest areas and sustainable wood fiber enters the production supply chain."<ref name="Businessweek-2012" /> KFC said: "From a global perspective, 60 percent of the paper products that Yum! (our parent company) sources are from sustainable sources. Our suppliers are working towards making it 100 percent."<ref name=rainforest />
In December 2012, the chain was criticized in China when it was discovered that a number of KFC suppliers had been using growth hormones and an excessive amount of antibiotics on its poultry in ways that violated Chinese law.<ref name="Hsu-2013">Template:Cite news</ref> In February 2013, Yum! CEO David Novak admitted that the scandal had been "longer lasting and more impactful than we ever imagined".<ref name="Hsu-2013" /> The issue is of major concern to Yum!, which earns almost half of its profits from China, largely through the KFC brand. In March 2013, Yum! reported that sales had rebounded in February, but that lower sales in December and January would result in a decline in same-store sales of 20 percent in the first quarter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2017, KFC was fined £950,000 after two workers in the UK were scalded by boiling hot gravy. The company admitted to charges of failing in a duty of care to employees and was ordered by Teesside Crown Court in Middlesbrough to pay fines of £800,000 and £150,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2018, logistics mismanagement by DHL, which had been selected by KFC UK as their new delivery partner, caused a chicken shortage in the United Kingdom – KFC's largest market in Europe – forcing the company to temporarily close hundreds of restaurants around the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> KFC apologized by taking out adverts in British newspapers showing the company's initials rearranged to read "FCK", followed by an apology, which was well received.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In November 2021, Finland's first KFC restaurant was opened at the Itis shopping center in Itäkeskus, Helsinki. A few days before the opening day, a tent had appeared in front of the restaurant, where a man who had kept his identity secret for a few days had stayed,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and who on the opening day revealed himself to the public as a vegan activist defending animal rights.<ref name="yle"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After trying to give his speech to those present, the security company carried him away.<ref name="yle">Template:Cite web</ref> Even before the opening of the restaurant, in October, news of a controversy over the procurement of a broiler for food from Poland; the cause is mainly related to the risk of salmonella in broilers, which is a significant problem in Poland, whereas its prevalence in Finland is low.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a number of companies have faced growing pressure to halt operations in Russia but have not yet done so. This includes KFC, which has over 1,000 outlets in Russia, more than any other Western fast food chain.<ref>Template:Cite web
In early 2022 a promotional video was shot with influencer Niko Omilana showing a chicken farm in the KFC supply chain. The video depicted birds with a good quality of life. Animal rights activists entered the same farm months later and found vastly different conditions, with instances of "severe overcrowding" and "lame and dead birds". Paul Roger, a vet and founder member of AWSELVA, said birds in the footage were exhibiting "behavioural signs of stress such as feather pecking and topical skin infection". KFC's actions were branded "misleading".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On November 9, 2022, KFC Germany issued an announcement inviting its German audience to celebrate Kristallnacht with "Cheesy Chicken". An apology was issued shortly afterwards, blaming the original message as an "error in our system".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2024, the closure of the outlet in Malaysia was reported due to the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Attacks on two outlets in Baghdad, Iraq were also reported.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In September 2024, KFC announced that it would not meet the Better Chicken Commitment, an animal welfare pledge made in 2019. The commitment includes several welfare standards, such as adopting slower-growing breeds by 2026, but as of 2024, only 1% of KFC's chickens were from such breeds.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
[edit]- Cuisine of the Southern United States
- List of chicken restaurants
- List of fast food restaurant chains
- List of major employers in Louisville, Kentucky
References
[edit]External links
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Template:KFC Template:Chicken chains Template:Yum! Template:Louisville Template:Fast-food chains of the United States Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- KFC
- 1930 establishments in Kentucky
- 1964 mergers and acquisitions
- 1971 mergers and acquisitions
- 1986 mergers and acquisitions
- American companies established in 1930
- American corporate subsidiaries
- Chicken chains of the United States
- Companies based in Louisville, Kentucky
- Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada
- Fast-food chains of the United States
- Fast-food poultry restaurants
- Kentucky cuisine
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- Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
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