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Template:Infobox KFC

KFC was founded by Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of restaurant franchising, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in 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. However, the company's rapid expansion saw it grow too large for Sanders to manage, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown, Jr. and Jack C. Massey.

KFC was one of the first fast-food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, KFC 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, who later sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas, and in 1987 KFC became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China.

In 1997, PepsiCo spun-off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which changed its name to Yum! Brands in 2002. Yum has proved a more focused owner than Pepsi, and although KFC's fortunes have waned in the US, the company has continued to grow in Asia, South America and Africa. The chain has expanded to 18,875 outlets across 118 countries and territories, with 4,563 outlets in China alone, KFC's largest market.

Origin

See also: Colonel Sanders

Harland Sanders was born in 1890 and raised on a farm outside Henryville, Indiana.[1] When Harland was five, his father died, forcing his mother to work at a canning plant.[2] As the eldest son, Harland was left to care for his two siblings.[2] After he reached seven, his mother taught him how to cook.[1] After leaving the family home at age 13, Sanders passed through several professions, with mixed success.[3] In 1930, he took over a Shell filling station on US Route 25 just outside North Corbin, a small city on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains.[2] By June, he had converted a storeroom into a small eating area using his own dining table, and was serving meals such as steaks and country ham to travelers.[4]

The Harland Sanders Café and Museum

In 1934, Sanders purchased the larger filling station on the other side of the road and expanded to six tables.[5] It was then that he began to sell fried chicken.[6] To improve his skills, Sanders took an eight-week restaurant-management course at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.[7] By 1936, his business had proved successful enough for him to be given the honorary title of Kentucky colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon.[8] In 1937, Sanders expanded his restaurant to 140 seats, and in 1940 purchased a motel across the street, the Sanders Court & Café.[9]

Sanders was dissatisfied with the 35 minutes it took to prepare his chicken in an iron frying pan, but he did not want to deep fry. Although a much faster process, in Sanders' opinion it produced dry and crusty chicken that was unevenly cooked.[10] On the other hand, if he prepared the chicken in advance of an order, there was sometimes waste at the end of the day.[1] In 1939, the first commercial pressure cookers were released onto the market, predominantly designed for steaming vegetables.[11] Sanders bought one and modified it into a pressure fryer, which he then used to prepare chicken.[12] The new method reduced production time to be comparable with deep frying, yet (in Sanders' opinion) retained the quality of pan-fried chicken.[10] In July 1940, Sanders finalised what came to be known as his Original Recipe of 11 herbs and spices.[13] Although he never publicly revealed the recipe, he admitted to the use of salt and pepper, and claimed that the ingredients "stand on everybody's shelf".[9][14]

After being recommissioned as a Kentucky colonel in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby, Sanders began to dress the part, growing a goatee and wearing a black frock coat (later switched to a white suit), a string tie, and referring to himself as "Colonel".[15][9] His associates went along with the title change, "jokingly at first and then in earnest", according to biographer Josh Ozersky.[16]

Early franchisees

The first KFC franchise, located in Salt Lake City

The Sanders Court & Café generally served travelers, so when the route planned in 1955 for Interstate 75 bypassed Corbin, Sanders sold his properties and traveled the US to market his chicken concept to restaurant owners.[17] Independent restaurant owners would pay five cents on each chicken sold as a franchise fee, in exchange for Sanders' "secret blend of herbs and spices", his recipe and method, and the right to advertise using his name and likeness.[18] In 1952 he had already successfully franchised his chicken recipe to Pete Harman of South Salt Lake, Utah, the operator of one of the largest restaurants in the city.[19] Don Anderson, a sign painter hired by Harman, coined the name "Kentucky Fried Chicken".[20] Sanders adopted the name because it distinguished his product from the deep-fried "Southern fried chicken" product found in restaurants.[21]

Harman claimed that in his first year of selling "Kentucky Fried Chicken", his restaurant sales more than tripled, with 75 percent of the increase coming from the sale of fried chicken.[22] In Utah, a product from Kentucky was exotic and evoked imagery of Southern hospitality.[20]

As a franchise-led operation, the work of the early franchisees was important to KFC's success, and Harman has been described as the "virtual co-founder" of the chain by Sanders' biographer.[23] Harman trademarked the phrase "It's finger lickin' good", which eventually become the company-wide slogan.[18] It was Harman who in 1957 first bundled 14 pieces of chicken, five bread rolls and a pint of gravy in a cardboard bucket to offer families "a complete meal" for $3.50 (around US$30 in 2014).[20] He first used the packaging as a favor to Sanders, who had called on behalf of a Denver franchisee who didn't know what to do with 500 cardboard buckets he had bought from a traveling salesman.[20]

Dave Thomas was a franchisee from the mid-1950s, and he developed the rotating bucket sign that came to be used at many KFC locations.[24] Thomas reported that Sanders' fried chicken was a "sensation" from the first day he offered it in his restaurant, with queues lining outside the door.[25] He was an early advocate of the take-out concept that Harman had pioneered, and introduced a bookkeeping form that Sanders rolled out across the entire KFC chain.[18][26] Thomas sold his shares in 1968 for US$1 million (around US$7 million in 2013), and became regional manager for all KFC restaurants east of the Mississippi before founding the Wendy's restaurant chain in 1969.[24][27]

In 1960, Sanders moved company headquarters to Shelbyville, Kentucky, so that he could ship his spices, pressure cookers, take-out cartons and advertising material more easily.[7]

Sale by Sanders

KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger.[28] In 1960 the company had some 200 franchised restaurants; by 1963 this had grown to around 600, making it the largest fast food operation in the United States.[17] In 1963, Sanders met John Y. Brown, Jr, the son of his lawyer, at a political breakfast.[29] Brown told Sanders that he was keen to join the company, which had developed a strong reputation in the Kentucky area.[30] According to Brown, Sanders had lost interest in the business operations of KFC.[29] Sanders explained that he saw a number of useful qualities in Brown, such as youth, enthusiasm and vision.[31] Brown and franchisee Dave Thomas agreed that Sanders "wasn't a very good businessman".[32][33]

Brown convinced the financier Jack C. Massey to provide 60 percent of the acquisition capital, and provided a major contribution himself, with smaller contributions from franchise holder Pete Harman and company officials Lee Cummings and Harlan Adams.[34] Sanders then began to have doubts about selling the company, as members of his family were against it.[35][36] Knowing that Sanders placed faith in astrology, Massey waited until he had a particularly positive and dramatic horoscope before offering a price for the company.[35] When Massey made the written offer, Sanders read the figure, immediately consulted his horoscope, then agreed to sell.[35] The group of investors acquired the company from Sanders in 1964 for US$2 million (around US$15 million in 2013).[8] The contract included a lifetime salary for Sanders and the agreement that he would be the company's quality controller and trademark.[37] Harman believed that selling the company would prevent possible bickering among Sanders' family and franchisees by offering a continuity of leadership and a firm central control.[38]

Massey and Brown era

Harland Sanders in character as "The Colonel" c. 1974

Massey and Brown introduced standardization to the fragmented company.[34] After visiting Pete Harman's operations in Utah, they began to implement the stand-alone take-out model across the entire chain.[34] Franchisees were ordered to delist their own menu items so that they could concentrate on KFC products.[39] The restaurants were re-branded with a distinctive red-and-white striped color pattern and mansard roofs with cupolas.[40] The roll-out of freestanding stores accelerated the company's growth as specialized operations proved easier to sell to potential franchisees.[18]

Sanders did not approve of all of the changes to the company that he had founded, and became incensed when Massey moved company headquarters from Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, which was closer to where Massey lived.[41] Sanders bellowed, "This ain't no goddam Tennessee Fried Chicken, no matter what some slick, silk-suited sonofabitch says".[41] Sanders also became frustrated with some of the changes to the company, such as introducing an initial franchisee fee of $4,000, and charging franchisees a percentage of total sales rather than a nickel per chicken sold.[42] Sanders also believed that the company had reneged on their contract with him when they opened operations in Canada, because as he understood it, the contract had granted him the exclusive rights to operate in the country.[43] Embarrassingly for the company, Sanders complained to The Washington Post, "I don't like some of the things John Y. done to me. Let the record speak for itself. He over-persuaded me to get out".[44] Brown argued that he brought order and efficiency to a chaotic management structure and treated the increasingly disgruntled Sanders with tact and patience.[41]

The company was forced to renegotiate with Sanders regarding the Canadian activities, as he owned $1.5 million worth of stock and was using it to prevent Massey from listing the company publicly until his qualms were addressed.[45] Brown and Massey claimed that Sanders only had the rights to process chicken in Canada.[43] After they renegotiated the contract to guarantee Sanders exclusive rights over Canada, he sold his stock to them, and the company went public in 1966.[45] After going public, the company bought out its 600 franchisees, and directly operated them itself.[36] Later that year, Massey resigned from day-to-day management of the company (although he remained as chairman), and Brown announced that headquarters would be moved to Louisville, Kentucky.[41]

By 1967, KFC had become the sixth largest restaurant chain in the US by sales volume, and 30 per cent of sales were take-out.[39][40] Brown felt that the company had to expand quickly, or else emerging rivals such as Church's Chicken would steal the company's lead; 863 outlets were opened in 1968.[36] The company's growth pushed its stock value to "stratospheric" levels, according to Reuters, and in 1969 it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.[35][46] Meanwhile, KFC entered into ventures with other companies. In 1969, Brown launched the "Kentucky Roast Beef" restaurant chain, and "Colonel Sanders Inns" motels.[47] Brown believed that the Colonel Sanders brand could be used to market anything, but these two ventures quickly failed.[48] That same year, KFC entered a joint venture with the California-based fish and chips chain H. Salt Esquire, which proved more successful, but would eventually be sold off in 1980.[49][50]

Massey resigned as chairman of the company in March 1970, and Brown took over his role.[51] The chain had reached 3,000 outlets in 48 different countries by 1970, but expansion was often chaotic and poorly executed.[39] Regional manager Dave Thomas complained that the company had become too "corporate", sent him "a lot of Mickey Mouse memos" and that Brown lacked motivational skill.[52] A member of KFC senior management described the international strategy as "throwing some mud against the map on the wall, and hoping some of it would stick."[53] The first outlet in Japan was opened after just two weeks preparation, and it proved to be a costly failure, losing $400,000 during its opening month and wasting more chicken than it sold.[53] Operational problems became clear in July 1971, after the company reported its first ever profit loss from the prior six-month period.[54]

Heublein and R.J. Reynolds

This sign displays the KFC logo as used between 1978 and 1991

Once too large for Harland Sanders to manage, Kentucky Fried Chicken grew to overwhelm John Y. Brown as well.[46] In July 1971, Brown sold the company to the Connecticut-based Heublein, a packaged food and drinks corporation, for US$285 million (around US$1.6 billion in 2013).[55] Brown personally gained around $35 million from the sale.[56] Reuters opined that the takeover probably saved the company from disaster.[46] Heublein planned to increase KFC's volume with its sales and marketing expertise.[57]

Meanwhile, Church's Chicken began making inroads into KFC's market share with their "Crispy Chicken" product.[41] KFC responded in 1972 when it introduced "Extra Crispy Chicken".[58] In 1973, KFC introduced barbecue spare ribs, which sold well but caused "tremendous" operating problems.[59] After the product was launched there was a shortage of pork, which pushed prices beyond what customers were willing to pay.[60] When management withdrew the product, they realized that fried chicken sales had been decreasing.[59] Meanwhile, Sanders increasingly regretting selling the company, and his relationship with the new owners had soured.[61] He began to complain of the company's declining food quality to the media:

My God, that gravy is horrible. They buy tap water for 15 to 20 cents a thousand gallons and then they mix it with flour and starch and end up with pure wallpaper paste ... And another thing. That new crispy recipe is nothing in the world but a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken.[62]

The outburst prompted a KFC franchisee in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to unsuccessfully attempt to sue Sanders for libel.[9] In 1973, Heublein attempted to sue Sanders after he opened a restaurant in Shelbyville, Kentucky, under the name of "Claudia Sanders, the Colonel's Lady Dinner House".[63] In retaliation, Sanders attempted to sue Heublein for US$122 million (around US$570 million in 2013) over the alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop, and for hindering his ability to franchise restaurants.[64] A Heublein spokesman described it as a "nuisance suit".[64] In 1975, Heublein settled out of court with Sanders for US$1 million (around US$4 million in 2013), allowing Sanders' restaurant venture to go forward as "Claudia Sanders Dinner House" and continued his role as goodwill ambassador.[63]

Overconfidence led KFC to fail in some overseas markets, such as Hong Kong, which the company abandoned in 1975 after just two years in operation.[65] Sanders continued to attack Heublein publicly, and in 1976 complained that the company "doesn't know what it's doing" and that it was "downright embarrassing" to have his image associated with such a poor quality product.[66] Michael A. Miles was promoted by Heublein to run the chain in 1977 and is credited with turning around the ailing company by instituting a back-to-basics formula.[67] One of Miles' most notable strategies was to lure Sanders back onside, and to listen to his recommendations for the business.[67] Miles also embarked on an extensive store refurbishment program, as outlets had become dated and run-down.[67] From the late 1970s, outlets in the United Kingdom and Australia began to be refurbished from take-out outlets into sit down restaurants.[68] Sanders died in 1980 from pneumonia, having continued to travel 200,000–250,000 miles a year up to this time, largely by car, promoting his product.[22][69] By branding himself as "Colonel Sanders", Harland became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising.[28] By the time of his death, there were an estimated 6,000 KFC outlets in 48 different countries worldwide, with $2 billion of sales annually.[7]

KFC expanded internationally throughout the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom.[70] After the General Cinema Corporation purchased 18 percent of its stock in 1983, Heublein feared it would be subject to a hostile takeover, and approached R. J. Reynolds, the tobacco firm, to act as a white knight and acquire the company for $1.3 billion.[71] That year, Michael Miles resigned as chairman of KFC to take the role of CEO at Kraft Foods, and Richard Mayer took over his role.[72] Reynolds had to contend with the introduction of Chicken McNuggets across the McDonald's chain in 1983; KFC did not introduce its own brand of chicken nuggets, called "Kentucky Nuggets" until 1985.[73] In 1984, Reynolds dedicated $168 million for capital expansion at KFC.[74]

PepsiCo

In July 1986, Reynolds sold KFC to PepsiCo for a book value of $850 million (around US$1.8 billion in 2013).[75] At the time, PepsiCo had interests in soft drinks and snacks, and also owned the restaurant chains Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Reynolds divested KFC in order to pay off debt related to its recent purchase of Nabisco and to concentrate on its tobacco and packaged food business.[76] It was anticipated that PepsiCo would bring their merchandising expertise to the company.[76] Dan Koeppel of Adweek believed that the chain had been suffering from corporate neglect, menu stagnation and mixed marketing messages, while Nancy Giges of Advertising Age felt that the chain had been "smartly revived" by R. J. Reynolds.[77][78] KFC chairman Richard Mayer was of the opinion that Reynolds had treated their restaurants division as a "hobby".[79]

PepsiCo's acquisition was seen by some analysts as a means for the company to increase its soft drinks sales.[78] Before the takeover, only 1,000 of the 6,500 KFC outlets sold Pepsi Cola.[78] PepsiCo chairman D. Wayne Calloway stressed that soft drink preference was not a factor in the KFC takeover.[78] However, PepsiCo was able to switch 1,650 company owned stores to their own supplied soft drinks with immediate effect.[78] KFC management had previously given franchisees the freedom to sell any soft drinks they wanted, but PepsiCo stated that it hoped it would be able to convince them to stock Pepsi products.[78] The purchase of KFC by PepsiCo led to a number of fast food competitors switching from Pepsi Cola to Coca-Cola.[80] One of the first to switch was Wendy's, whose chairman, Robert Barney, stated, "In recent months, Pepsi has acquired another restaurant chain. Their interests are now in conflict with Wendy's and we will not support a company that is trying to make our customers its customers."[80] In 1990, Burger King also switched to Coca-Cola from PepsiCo, citing the growth of PepsiCo as a rival as a "large factor" in the switch.[81]

Zinger chicken burgers in India.

By July 1987, the "Chicken Little", an inexpensive chicken slider made from dark meat, was introduced across KFC's US stores, aimed at capturing the lunchtime market.[82] Sales were reportedly disappointing, despite a $31 million advertising campaign.[83] In November 1987, KFC became the first Western restaurant chain in China, with an outlet in Beijing.[84] In 1989, first quarter sales at KFC rose 30 percent to US$280 million.[85] In July 1989, president and CEO Richard Meyer left KFC in order to become the CEO at Kraft Foods, and was replaced by John Cranor III.[86]

In August 1989, Cranor proposed a new contract for the US franchisees: PepsiCo could take over weak franchises, existing restaurants would not be safeguarded against competition from new outlets, and PepsiCo would have the right to increase royalty fees.[87] The contract proved controversial amongst franchisees, who fought the proposal, and the issue was not resolved until 1996. PepsiCo was accused of behaving in an imperious manner towards franchisees, who it believed were holding back the firm's growth, while the franchisees believed they had been the backbone of the company during a succession of indifferent corporate owners.[77]

Cranor spent $42 million restructuring the company's US and international operations.[88] He invested an additional $50 million to refurbish outlets and $20 million on a new computer system to link outlet cash registers to the kitchen, drive-through window, manager's office and company headquarters.[88] Cranor also expanded the chain into non-traditional locations, beginning with a 150 sq ft kiosk selling seven items at a General Motors assembly plant in Dayton, Ohio.[88] Between 1986 and 1991, the chain built a further 2,000 outlets to bring its total number to 8,500, and sales grew from $3.5 to $6.2 billion.[88] The chain had to contend with the rise of grilled chicken as Americans became increasingly health conscious.[86] KFC found itself competing against the growing El Pollo Loco restaurant chain, as well as with Burger King, which had just introduced the BK Broiler, a grilled chicken burger.[86] Delays in product development, cramped kitchens and the ongoing franchisee contract dispute prevented the chain from rolling out a grilled product of its own.[77] Franchisee relations became tenser still when, in August 1990, PepsiCo announced plans to roll out a home delivery service at all 5,000 US outlets by January 1991, without informing franchisees beforehand.[77]

In 1991 the KFC name was officially adopted, although the chain was already widely known by that initialism.[89] A spokesman for the chain said that it represented its diversified menu, which was moving away from solely fried products.[90] Kyle Craig, president of KFC US, admitted the change was an attempt to distance the chain from the unhealthy connotations of "fried".[91] An editorial in Advertising Age stated, "the chain's jettisoning of a venerable name—and distancing from the word fried—was ill-conceived and damaging. It made a clear brand fuzzy."[92]

The early 1990s saw a number of successful major products launched throughout the chain, including spicy "Hot Wings" (launched in 1990), popcorn chicken (1992), and, internationally, the "Zinger", a spicy chicken fillet burger (1993).[93] In 1993, rotisserie style chicken, under the name "Colonel's Rotisserie Gold", was introduced at over 30 per cent of US outlets.[94] It proved to be a costly failure: a $100 million investment in marketing and equipment was undermined by faulty ovens.[95] The launch of skinless chicken, designed to appeal to health-conscious customers, failed; customers disliked the unfamiliar texture, and the product resulted in increased overheads, which contributed to a 37 percent decline in operating profits in 1991.[96][97]

While the US division struggled, becoming the weakest part of PepsiCo's restaurants division, elsewhere sales boomed, with particular success in Japan.[81] By 1992, slightly under half of all sales came from international markets.[98] By 1993, KFC in the Asia Pacific region accounted for 22 percent of all KFC sales.[84] Overseas operations often flourished while local management ignored or even defied orders from Louisville headquarters.[99]

By 1994, KFC had a total of 9,407 outlets worldwide, including 5,149 outlets in the US, with over 100,000 employees.[100] That year, the chain began to struggle after competitors such as McDonald's introduced value menu offerings.[101] Two executives with marketing backgrounds were charged with reviving the ailing company.[102] Roger Enrico was appointed as the CEO of PepsiCo Worldwide Restaurants, and David C. Novak was appointed President of KFC in North America.[102] The company quickly repaired its relationship with its franchisees by immediately dropping the most contentious of the contract terms that had been proposed by divisional chairman John Cranor five years ago. Afterward, Novak oversaw ten fiscal quarters of consecutive growth at KFC North America.[103]

Novak introduced two successful new products—the chicken pot pie and Crispy Strips (breaded strips of chicken)—the chain's first major new product launches in almost two years.[101] Novak credits an improved, more "open" relationship with franchisees for the introduction of the two new items: Crispy Strips were invented by an Arkansas franchisee, and the pot pie was similarly developed alongside franchisees.[104] Meanwhile, weaker selling items, such as corn muffins, were removed from the menu.[95] At the same time, Enrico scaled back the increasing competition between KFC and its sister companies, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut; Taco Bell had begun offering its own chicken products, and KFC had attacked Pizza Hut in its marketing.[95] As a result of his success at KFC North America, Novak became President and CEO of the entire KFC organization in 1996.[105]

Tricon and Yum! Brands

In August 1997, PepsiCo spun off its poorly performing restaurants division as a public company valued at US$4.5 billion (around US$6.5 billion in 2013).[106] Although KFC had been doing well, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell had been under-performing. One PepsiCo executive admitted, "restaurants weren't our schtick".[107][108] The new company, named Tricon Global Restaurants, had 30,000 outlets and annual sales of US$10 billion (around US$14 billion in 2013) at the time, making it second only to McDonald's in global sales.[109]

In May 1997, the "Tower Burger", a fried chicken fillet burger with the addition of a hash brown, was first launched in the United Kingdom.[110] In July 1997, the Twister wrap was launched in most US KFC stores.[111] It was the first KFC chicken item to be served cold, and it used leftover fried chicken that would otherwise have been discarded by outlets.[112] The product underperformed in the US, and was withdrawn by May 1998.[113] After a revamped Twister wrap became a success in Australia, the product was rolled out internationally. The new Twister was served hot and used the "Crispy Strip" chicken strips, peppery mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato.[112] By 1998, the majority of KFC franchisees had agreed to stock PepsiCo soft drink products.[114] In September 1999, the chain launched a $75 million advertising campaign for its new range of chicken burgers, which were aimed at capturing the lunchtime market.[115] The Triple Crunch, Triple Crunch Zinger and Original Recipe were fried, while the Tender Roast and Honey BBQ were not.[115] The campaign was KFC's most expensive to date.[115] In November 1999 the first outlet run by an all-deaf or partially deaf staff was opened in Malaysia.[116]

Since the turn of the 21st century, fast food has been criticised for its animal welfare record, its links to obesity and its environmental impact.[117] Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation (2002) and Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me (2004) reflected these concerns.[20] Since 2003, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has protested KFC's choice of poultry suppliers worldwide with the Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign.[118] PETA have held thousands of demonstrations, sometimes in the home towns of KFC executives, and CEO David Novak was notably soaked in fake blood by a protester.[119] KFC President Gregg Dedrick said PETA mischaracterized KFC as a poultry producer rather than a purchaser of chickens.[120] 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."[121]

Tricon was renamed Yum! Brands in May 2002.[122] That year, the chain had to contend with Burger King's launch of the Chicken Whopper, as well as fried chicken offerings from the pizza chains Domino's and Papa John's.[97][123] Within three months, the Chicken Whopper became Burger King's most successful launch of all time, with sales of 50 million.[97] In September 2002, KFC sales were down 10 percent against the previous year.[123] From 2002 to 2005, KFC experienced three years of weak sales, when underinvestment in product development left the brand looking "tired and poorly positioned", according to Restaurant Research, an independent consultancy.[108] A roast chicken product line introduced in 2004 was unsuccessful,[124] and the worldwide avian flu scare of 2005 temporarily decreased sales by as much as 40 per cent.[125] KFC responded in March 2005 by adding a cheap, small chicken burger to the menu called the "Snacker".[108] It proved to be one of the chain's most successful product launches to date, with over 100 million in sales.[126] In international markets, KFC introduced the "Boxmaster", a meal-sized wrap in a box. KFC also began a makeover of the US brand image, bringing back the full "Kentucky Fried Chicken" name at some outlets and returning portraits of Colonel Sanders to prominence.[108]

In 2009, KFC International launched the Krusher (Krushem in some markets) line of frozen beverages. The product was an attempt to introduce a between-meals snack to KFC, and was marketed towards teenagers.[127] In April 2010, the Double Down sandwich was launched. Criticised as an unhealthy product, it featured two pieces of fried chicken in lieu of a conventional bread bun. It has proved to be a success for the company, with 15 million Double Downs sold worldwide between March 2011 and March 2013.[128] In September 2012, the Chicken Little sandwich returned in the US.[129]

By December 2013, there were 18,875 KFC outlets in 118 countries and territories around the world.[130][131] KFC is the second largest restaurant chain in the world by sales after McDonald's.[132]

References

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