Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Corporation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's most widespread chicken restaurant chain offering services to more than 12 million customers in 109 countries all around the world. KFC operates more than 5,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 15,000 units around the world. KFC was founded by Harland Sanders (Sanders) in the early1930s. He started cooking and serving food for hungry travelers who stopped by his service station in Corbin, Kentucky, US. He did not own a restaurant then, but served people on his own dining table in the living quarters of his service station.
His business expanded and by 1964, Sanders franchised more than 600 chicken outlets in the US and Canada. Now customers around the globe enjoy more than 300 other products from Kentucky Grilled Chicken in the United States to a salmon sandwich in Japan . KFC has been a brand and operating segment, of Yum Brands since 1997 when that company was acquired from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. KFC's original product is pressure fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders' recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret.
Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard "bucket," which has become an icon 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 burgers 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 KFC is known for the slogan "finger licking' good," which has since been replaced by "Nobody does chicken like KFC" and "So good."
In September 2013, there were 296 KFC outlets in India. [95] As well as the standard KFC offerings, the chain sells a chickpea burger and hot wings with chilli lemon sprinkles. [96] A major franchise holder is QSR Brands (M) Holdings, which operated 26 outlets as of 2012. [97] The first Indian KFC opened a two-story outlet on the fashionable Brigade Road in Bangalore in June 1995. According to journalist Michael White, the company could not have chosen a "more difficult venue for its maiden entree into the country."
Bangalore housed the headquarters of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, one of the most influential, vocal and anti-foreign investment farmer's associations in the country. There were protests from left wing, anti-globalization and environmental campaigners, as well as local farmers, who objected to the chain bypassing local producers. Many Indians were concerned about the onslaught of consumerism, the loss of national self-sufficiency, and the disruption of indigenous traditions. The protests came to a head in August 1995, when the Bangalore outlet was repeatedly ransacked.
The KFC outlet in Bangalore demanded, and received, a police van permanently parked outside for a year. The outlet was closed on 13 September 1995 by local authorities, who claimed its food was unhealthy. However, the outlet reopened for business within six hours of its closure, after the Karnataka High Court blocked the local authorities' order on an appeal by KFC. The company had argued that it prepared food in India using the same formula as in 77 other countries. Rural activist M. D.
Nanjundaswamy subsequently claimed KFC would adversely affect the health of the impoverished, by diverting grain from poor people to make the more profitable animal feed. Former environment minister Maneka Gandhi joined the anti-KFC movement. KFC was also accused of using illegally high amounts of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and frying its food in pork fat. A second store opened in Delhi, but was closed by the authorities throughout November, purportedly for health reasons, but more likely to avoid a repetition of the Bangalore incident. The Delhi outlet soon closed permanently.
KFC began to expand outside of Bangalore in 2004, with a localized menu that was the most extensive meat-free menu across the chain's worldwide operations. It introduced a vegetarian menu that included rice meals, wraps and side dishes and, like McDonald's, served eggless mayonnaise and sauces. Unnat Varma, marketing director of KFC India, states "The vegetarian offerings have made the brand more relevant to a larger section of consumers and that is necessary for KFC's growth. " KFC also began using Indian spices and cooking techniques to localize its chicken dishes. By 2008–09, KFC operated 34 outlets in India.
Products offered: KFC's core product offering is pressure fried chicken on the bone pieces seasoned with the "Original Recipe". The product is typically available in either two or three piece individual servings, or in a family size cardboard bucket typically holding from 6 to 16 pieces of chicken. Poultry is divided into 9 different cuts (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings, 1 keel, and a backbone based breast cut divided into 2 pieces. The product is hand-breaded at individual KFC outlets with wheat flour mixed with the secret recipe seasoning before it is pressure fried.
The breading process typically takes between 2 and 4 minutes. Cooking time is for a maximum of 7 minutes at 185 degrees Celsius. 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. To ensure freshness, the product must be discarded if it has not been sold within 90 minutes. The frying oil varies regionally, including sunflower, rapeseed or palm oil. 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.
As well as its core chicken on the bone offering, KFC's major products include chicken burgers (including the Zinger and the Tower burgers); wraps ("Twisters" and "Box masters"); and a variety of finger foods, including crispy chicken strips and hot wings. "Popcorn Chicken" is one of the most widely available KFC products, and consists of small pieces of fried chicken. Some locations, such as the UK, sell griddled "Brazer" chicken, and some locations, such as the US, sell grilled "Kentucky Grilled Chicken".
In some locations, chicken nuggets are sold, and are sometimes sold, as in Australia, under the "Kentucky Nuggets" trademark. Value menu items are sold under the "Streetwise" name in locations such as Canada. Some locations in the US sell fried chicken livers and gizzards. Some US outlets offer an all-you-can-eat buffet option with a limited menu. KFC adapts its menu internationally to suit regional tastes, and there are over three hundred KFC menu items worldwide. In predominantly Islamic countries, the chicken served is halal. In Asia there is a preference for spicy foods, such as the Zinger chicken burger.
A number of territories, such as Japan, Jamaica, Ecuador and Singapore, sell fried seafood products under the "Colonel's Catch" banner. KFC Hot Wings fried chicken in Malaysia. Side dishes often include French fries, coleslaw, barbecue baked beans, corn on the cob, mashed potato, bread rolls and American biscuits. Salads include the bean salad, the Caesar salad and the garden salad. In a number of territories, KFC sell onion rings. In Asia, rice based side dishes such as kanji are often sold. In South Africa, the regional pap dish is sold. In Malaysia, chicken meatball soup is sold.
In the US and Greece, potato wedges are sold instead of French fries. McCormick & Company is KFC's largest supplier of sauces, seasonings and marinades, and is a long-term partner in new product development. Due to the company's previous relationship with PepsiCo, most territories supply PepsiCo products, but exceptional territories include South Africa, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Romania, Greece, Israel, Barbados, St Kitts & Nevis and Sri Lanka, which stock drinks supplied by The Coca-Cola Company, and Aruba, which stocks RC Cola from the Cott Corporation. In Peru, the locally popular Inca Kola is sold.
In a number of Eastern European locations and Portugal, beer is offered, in addition to soft drinks. 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. Apple pie is a popular dessert worldwide, but other items include sundaes, tres leches cake in Peru, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Germany and the Netherlands. 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.
