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KFC (formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken) is a division of Yum! Brands, Inc., and is based in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Founded by Col. Harland Sanders, KFC is known mainly for its fried chicken.

Sanders first served his fried chicken during the Great Depression at a gas station he owned in Corbin, Kentucky, and later at a restaurant and motel he bought across the street. He generally served travelers, often those headed to Florida, so when plans for the new interstate highway system in the 1950s failed to include Corbin, he sold his properties and began to travel the United States to sell his chicken to restaurant owners. Sanders entered into agreements where he would receive five cents for each piece of chicken sold. **" target="_blank" > The first to take him up on the offer was Pete Harman [http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595057690,00.html in Salt Lake City, Utah; together, they opened the world's first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" outlet in 1952. (The Corbin businesses did not bear that name.) Sanders sold the entire KFC franchising operation in 1964 for $2 million, and it has since been sold three more times, most recently to PepsiCo, who made it part of their Tricon Global Restaurants division, now known as Yum! Brands, Inc. In 1997, Tricon was spun off from PepsiCo.

Name

The company adopted the abbreviated form of its name in 1991 for three reasons: to de-emphasize chicken (since the chain was moving to offer other foods), to avoid the unhealthy connotations of the word "fried", and because a shorter name was considered more appealing to the youth market.

When the name changed, an urban legend arose that it was due the fact that KFC was using a genetically modified animal that could not be considered a chicken. The site Snopes generally considered a reference on urban legends, added to the confusion by releasing a spoof page saying that Kentucky had trademarked its own name, asking therefore royalties from any song or commerce that used it.

In French-speaking Quebec, Canada, KFC is known as PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky); this is one of the few instances in which the KFC initialism is changed for the local language. Recently, the company has begun to re-embrace the Kentucky Fried Chicken name, and now uses both "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and "KFC" in its advertisements.

Food

The Colonel's "secret recipe" of eleven herbs and spices remains one of the best-kept trade secrets in business. The original handwritten recipe is locked securely in a vault in Louisville, with partial copies stored elsewhere as backup. The two suppliers of the seasonings each provide only parts of the recipe, and do not know each other's identity. Not even the company's president knows the ingredient list, and the few people who do are subject to a strict confidentiality agreement. Several people have contacted KFC, claiming to have found copies of the recipe, but KFC claims that none have been correct. A couple who purchased the Colonel's original home found another handwritten recipe in the basement, and, although it was written by Sanders, it was determined to be nothing like the original.

However, author William Poundstone, in his 1985 book, Big Secrets, claimed that a chemical test revealed that the ingredients of the coating amount to nothing more than salt, ground black pepper, flour, and MSG. KFC continues to insist that their recipe has eleven herbs and spices.

As with the secret Coca-Cola formula, the stories surrounding the recipe for KFC also serve a marketing purpose, with the company playing heavily on the mystery surrounding The Colonel's secret recipe, regardless of the actual extent any special recipe plays in the taste and popularity of their chicken.

Beyond the fried chicken, KFC also serves side-dishes like coleslaw, various potato-based items (including potato wedges, and whipped (mashed) potatoes with gravy), corn on the cob and biscuits. KFC also offers other entreés such as Popcorn Chicken, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, pork ribs and a variety of desserts—though not all may be found in all locations, particularly in non-US locations. Some sides are also unique and available only in a particular region.

KFC is also currently experimenting with pot pies, and boneless and roasted chicken in addition to its core food offering.

Controversy

In New Zealand, television advertisements for the chain featured the slogan "Kiwi For Chicken". In 2002 Greenpeace created a fake website dubbing KFC "Kiwi For Cheapskates", and KFC responded with a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) on a news website which had run ads linking to that fake site. *

On October 16, 2003, Playboy model and actress Pamela Anderson joined PETA in their animal rights campaign against KFC urging consumers to boycott the franchise until better treatment of its chickens is ensured.

On June 3, 2004, the FTC and KFC came to a settlement regarding KFC's advertising campaign claiming that "fried chicken can, in fact, be part of a healthy diet." The terms of the agreement were not disclosed; however, the TV commercials stopped airing after the settlement. *

On July 20, 2004, PETA released a video of cruelty to chickens taken at Pilgrim's Pride, one of KFC's suppliers in West Virginia. The supplier stated that it would investigate the claims. Pilgrim's Pride fired eleven employees following the release of the video and provided animal cruelty training to its work force, however, none of the employees involved in the incident faced any criminal charges.

On 26 January 2006, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher refused Pamela Anderson's PETA-backed demand to remove a statue of Colonel Sanders from the Kentucky Capitol Building after Yum! and Churchill Downs announced an agreement that Yum! would become the main sponsor of the Kentucky Derby. A few days later, Anderson announced she would not attend the horse race again.

A few countries (such as India) have discovered that the MSG levels in KFC foods exceeded their regulations. Some scientists believe that MSG is a health hazard, and food from KFC was often put at the top of high MSG foods to avoid (an average 2% MSG was found in most analysis).

On June 13 2006, the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued KFC, alleging that the chain used excessively high levels of trans fat oil in its fried items. *

Slogans

  • There's fast food, then there's KFC *
  • Finger lickin' good!*
  • Nobody Does Chicken Like KFC! (Australia, Singapore, and UK)*
  • Can't Beat that Taste! (2005/06 - Australia and New Zealand) *
  • Everybody Needs a little KFC. (1990s - United States) *
  • We do chicken right! (1980s) *
  • Chicken Capital USA (2005- - United States) *
  • You've got to KFC what's Cookin' (2003-2004)*
  • There's More Inside The Bucket (2005-2006)
  • The Taste Lives Here (2006-)

Countries with KFC

Andorra || Only has 2 outlets, one in the Capitial Andorra La Vella, another one in Escaldes. Aruba || Australia || 712+ locations in Australia & New Zealand combined (2006) [http://www.kfcqld.com.au/history.phpAustria || Bahrain || Barbados || Bermuda || The only US fast food franchise in Bermuda Brazil || Bulgaria || Canada || In Quebec the franchise is known as PFK which stands for Poulet Frit KentuckyChile || China || Colombia || Costa Rica || Cyprus || Czech Republic || Denmark || Dominican Republic || Ecuador || El Salvador || Egypt || France || Germany || Grenada || Greece || Guyana || Honduras || Hong Kong || Also known as 肯德基 and managed by Birdland (Hong Kong) Limited Hungary || Iceland || India || Outlets in Kolkata , New Delhi , Bangalore , Hyderabad and Mumbai Indonesia || Ireland || Israel || Jamaica || Japan || Jordan || Korea || Kuwait || Lebanon || Macau || Malaysia || Malta || Mauritius || Mexico || Namibia || Netherlands || New Zealand || KFC has 97 branches throughout New Zealand - see KFC OutletsPakistan || KFC Pakistan has 40 Branches over the country - see kfcpakistanPanama || Peru || Philippines || Poland || Portugal || Puerto Rico || Qatar || Romania || Russia || Saint Vincent and the Grenadines || Saudi Arabia || Singapore || South Africa || Spain || Sri Lanka || St. Lucia || Taiwan || Also known as 肯德基, the first restaurant was built in 1984. Now there are over 133 branches in Taiwan. see KFC club TaiwanThailand || Trinidad and Tobago || Turkey || U.S. Virgin Islands || United Arab Emirates || United Kingdom || United States || in addition to the initial franchises. Venezula || Vietnam || Zimbabwe ||
Country Notes

Industrial relations

KFC employs a high proportion of young and unskilled workers, and frequently pays at or just above minimum wages. Most KFC workers are not unionized.

In New Zealand, KFC youth workers earn NZ$7.13 an hour. Staff at the Balmoral, Auckland store went on strike for two hours on 3 December 2005 after Restaurant Brands, the franchise holder, offered no wage increase in contract negotiations. * In March 2006, Restaurant Brands agreed to phase out youth rates in New Zealand, although no date was set.

In Australia many KFC stores are covered by an enterprise bargaining agreement with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). Despite this, their wages are barely above the Award rate of pay.

In Calgary, a KFC outlet was forced to close temporarily due to lack of staffing because of a labor shortage.

Trivia

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "KFC".

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