KFC (肯德基;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Kěndéjī) is a

fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

chain founded by

Colonel Harland Sanders Colonel Harland David Sanders (September 9, 1890 December 16, 1980) was an American businessman, best known for founding fast food chicken restaurant chain KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC) and later acting as the company's brand ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, in 1952. KFC specializes in selling

fried chicken Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...

and is known to have diversified the fast-food market by challenging the dominance of the

chicken burger A chicken sandwich is a sandwich that typically consists of boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh served between slices of bread, on a bun, or on a roll. Variations on the "chicken sandwich" include the chicken burger, chicken on a bun, chi ...

. In 1930, at the age of 40 Colonel Sanders bought a roadside motel in

Corbin, Kentucky Corbin is a home rule-class city in Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,304. Corbin is on Interstate 75, about halfway between Knoxvill ...

to sell his southern style chicken. By 1939, he had created his blend of 11 herbs and spices that are still used in the recipes today. In 1950, the colonel became an icon by regularly wearing his white suit in public. 1952 marks the opening of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in

. In 1957, the original KFC bucket became recognized worldwide. Due to the rapid growth of KFC, Colonel Sanders sold his company to a group of investors in 1964 and moved to Canada for the remainder of his life. KFC was sold to

Heublein Heublein Inc. (also known as Heublein Spirits) was an American producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages and food throughout the 20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s its stock was regarded as one of the most stable financial investments, ...

in the 1970s and was later sold to

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

then spun off, along with other fast-food chains owned by the company, to become

Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (or Yum!), formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., is an American fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 1000. Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, except in China, where the br ...

in 1997. KFC restaurants in China are owned or franchised by

Yum China Yum China Holdings, Inc. () is a Chinese Fortune 500 fast-food restaurant company based in Shanghai, China. With US$9.5 billion in revenue and 10,600 restaurants worldwide it is one of the largest restaurant companies. It was spun off from Yum ...

, a restaurant company that also owns the

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

and

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

chains in China and was spun off from

in 2016. As of September 2021, KFC has over 8,100 outlets over 1,600 cities across China. According to research by Millward Brown, KFC was the most powerful foreign brand in China in 2013. KFC drive through restaurant in Qingdao

History

KFC became the first Western fast-food company in China after its first outlet opened in

Qianmen Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, literally meaning "Gate of the Zenith Sun"), a gate in Beijing's historic city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guar ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, in November 1987. It was China's first introduction to franchising. China proceeded to adopt the franchise and it grew rapidly. The operation was a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

, with a 60 percent stake held by KFC, 27 percent by the Beijing Tourist Bureau and 13 percent by Beijing Food Production. In early 1988,

Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ) is a Chinese majority state-owned commercial bank headquartered in Beijing and the fourth largest bank in the world. The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, repl ...

took a 25 percent stake in the venture, and KFC's original stake was diluted to 51 percent. Warren Liu, a former vice-president of Tricon Global Restaurants (KFC's former parent company) argued that "being the first... has continued to provide KFC with a substantial competitive advantage." By 1988 the Beijing outlet had the highest volume sales of any KFC in the world. Instead of importing American managers, KFC hired management from rising Asian economies such as

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Existing Chinese distribution infrastructure was poor or non-existent, so KFC created its own, which ensured high quality standards. The founding leadership were known as "Taiwan Gang" because they were from Taiwan. The team was filled with veterans in the fast food industry with up to 10 years of experience before joining. They were knowledgeable of Chinese culture and formed local partnerships to come up with localized menus and management practices despite being educated in the west. The chain had an early advantage against its Western fast food rivals, as fried chicken has been a staple Chinese dish since antiquity, whereas

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

s were foreign and relatively unknown. Taiwanese businessman Tony Wang was hired by KFC in 1975 to work as a

business analyst A business analyst (BA) is a person who processes, interprets and documents business processes, products, services and software through analysis of data. The role of a business analyst is to ensure business efficiency increases through their know ...

. Wang met with the mayor of Tianjin city, Li Ruihuan, and was asked to teach him how to start a fast-food business. Wang used his newfound knowledge to successfully open his business in Tianjin, Orchid Food, and KFC became interested in having him lead the expansion of KFC in China. Although KFC had success with international expansion in countries like Southeast Asia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, they struggled to integrate into China. Wang's journey of expanding into China was riddled with problems. KFC was stuck with using chilled chicken since they did not have a transport system for the chicken, since China only had coarse-grained salt while KFC used fine-grain salt. According to Wang, In addition to ingredients, "...skilled labor was hard to find and training the staff was very tedious". Despite the struggle, Wang was able to open 5 outlets by the time he left KFC in 1990. By 1994, there were 28 KFC outlets in China, including seven in Beijing. By 1997, there were 100 outlets. By 2007, there were 2,000 outlets in 240 cities. KFC would begin to expand north and west into China along with the central region. Eventually it covered all the provinces in China except for Tibet. The expansion of KFC was also continuously increasing in the cities that they already settled into. In 2008, CEO David Novak announced plans to open more than 20,000 restaurants in China, saying: "We're in the first innings of a nine-innings ball game in China." At the start of 2008, the chain added its first Chinese

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

snack to its menu, the

youtiao ''Youtiao'' (), known in Southern China as Yu Char Kway is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough of Chinese origin and (by a variety of other names) also popular in other East and Southeast Asian cuisines. Conventionally, ''youtiao'' ...

. The street snack menu was expanded in 2010 with the addition of the

shaobing Shaobing (), also called huoshao, is a type of baked, unleavened, layered flatbread in northern Chinese cuisine. Shaobing can be made with or without stuffing, and with or without sesame on top. Shaobing contains a variety of stuffings that can ...

. In August 2010, KFC China announced its biggest product launch to date: the Rice Bowl, which heralded the arrival of rice as an accompaniment across the chain.

Early obstacles

KFC also faced some issues early on with some KFC stores getting wrecked by crowds protesting a mistaken bombing of the Chinese Embassy in 1999. In 2005,

Sudan I Sudan I (also commonly known as CI Solvent Yellow 14 and Solvent Orange R), is an organic compound, typically classified as an azo dye. It is an intensely orange-red solid that is added to colourise waxes, oils, petrol, solvents, and polishes. Suda ...

was found in spice pickle powder which was used in some KFC menu items. The discovery was made by quality inspection authorities in Zhejiang Province. The items included spiced drumsticks, spiced chicken wings, popcorn chicken, and the "New Orleans Roasted Chicken". They were removed from the menu because the seasoning was a banned carcinogenic dye. Sudan I is an industrial dye used for coloring solvents, oil waxes, as well as shoes and floor polishes. The substance is not safe for use in foods because it increases the risk of cancer. The discovery led to the ban of all flavoring products made by Heinz-Meiweiyuan Food Co. Despite the scandal with the dye, KFC increased profits while opening hundreds of new stores during the same year. This success could be credited to the clever advertising aimed at Chinese audience and the knowledge of the Chinese market.

2012–2014 supply issues

In December 2012, the chain faced allegations that some of its suppliers injected

antiviral drug Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do n ...

s and

growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in h ...

s into poultry in ways that violated food safety regulations. This resulted in the chain severing its relationship with 100 suppliers and agreeing to "actively co-operate" with a government investigation into its use of antibiotics. KFC China sales in January 2013 were down 41 percent against the previous year. In May 2013, ''

Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'' speculated that KFC may be "losing its touch" in China. Recovery has been slower than Yum! expected, with same store sales continuing to decline as late as October 2013, although the rate of decline is slowing. Leslie Patton of ''Businessweek'' also highlighted increased competition in the fast food category from competitors. To counter sluggish sales, the menu was revamped in 2014. In April 2014, Yum! announced that first quarter KFC sales had risen by 11 percent in China, following a 15 percent fall in 2013. In July 2014, Chinese authorities closed down the

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

operations of the

OSI Group OSI Group is an American privately owned holding company of meat processors that service the retail and food service industries with international headquarters in Aurora, Illinois. It operates over 65 facilities in 17 countries. Sheldon Lavin was ...

, amidst allegations that it had supplied KFC with expired meat. Yum! immediately terminated its contract with the supplier and stated that the revelation had led to a "significant ndnegative" decline in sales.

Effect on people

When KFC first arrived in China, it was not visited very frequently, but now the chain plays a crucial role in urban life. China's ad market started growing significantly during the 1980s with possibilities of exceeding the US ad market. With the growth of the ad market, brand names became a staple in China making big chains like KFC become more recognizable. The power of branding was able to reach even remote regions in China, with the help of the television spreading word of KFC. KFC assisted with global modernization in China by connecting the chain with China customers. The appeal of the western lifestyle drew in customers and convinced them to spend 7 yuan for a meal at KFC despite the average monthly wage in Beijing being just 100 yuan a month. China was also becoming more accepting of Western influences with the new era. The typical Western approach to foreign expansion is to try to sell core products or services to as many different countries as possible.

McDonalds vs KFC

KFC and McDonalds were the first American fast-food pioneers in the 1980s after foreign investments became more widely accepted under the economic reforms of

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...

. McDonalds and KFC are major competitors in China despite being representatives of American fast-food industry. McDonalds entered China a little later than KFC in 1990. Similarly, to KFC, it adopted a joint venture with a state-owned enterprise, Beijing Corporation of Farming Industry and Commerce, and operated in Shenzhen. China has the largest number of fast-food consumers along with McDonalds and KFC dominating the fast-food market in China with a combined share that exceeds 90% of the market. The competition between the two brands was very beneficial to business in China. With chicken as the core of KFC's menu, they had an advantage over the beef-based McDonalds. Chinese consumers consider pork and chicken as their top choices of meat to eat. Despite contentment with the original KFC menu items, they continuously produced localized items to satisfy their Chinese consumers. Some of these items include Chinese-styled porridge, Beijing Chicken Roll served with scallion and seafood sauce, Spicy Diced Chicken resembling Sichuan-styled dishes, and Chinese dough fritters. McDonalds aimed to make customers feel at home with their slogan, "Get together at McDonald’s; enjoy the happiness of family life". Despite working in the US, it failed to attract Chinese customers. KFC, however, adopted traditional Chinese themes in their commercials to attract customers. McDonalds is associated with western food while KFC is associated with locally adapted food. The two brands adopted different marketing strategies with McDonalds appealing to modern tastes and purposely maintaining a foreign feel and KFC adapting to local tastes and adapting to the Chinese culture. KFC's integration of both cultural proximity and genre proximity gave it an advantage over McDonalds on the market. McDonalds' initial success in China was due to its genre proximity and ablility to provide a better service than local restaurants. The nutritional values and preparations were highly standardized compared to traditional Chinese fast food; McDonald's service was much faster than local businesses; McDonalds was much cleaner; and McDonalds utilized modern technology. However, McDonalds' reign over local restaurants was short-lived since the fast-food market started to expand and provide the same quality of service as McDonalds. The new options that arose nullified McDonald's genre proximity advantage. With economic reforms made by Deng Xiaoping, Chinese consumers changed their mindsets around foreign products being superior and started to shift towards local services. The new conditions negatively affected McDonald's business since they only had genre proximity to rely on and KFC was able to stay ahead of them with sales.

Operations

Sam Su is chairman and CEO of Yum!'s Chinese operations. The Zinger burger is the highest selling menu item. KFC has adapted its menu to suit local tastes, with items such as rice

congee Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most o ...

, egg

custard tart Custard tarts or flans pâtissier are a baked pastry consisting of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. History The development of custard is so intimately connected with the custard tart or pie that the word itself comes from Anglo- ...

s and tree fungus salad, with an average of 50 different menu items per store. Another item is the Dragon Twister, a wrap that includes fried chicken, cucumbers,

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, ch ...

s, and

duck sauce Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, ...

, similar in preparation to

Peking duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the d ...

. Chinese outlets are typically two to three times larger than American and European outlets; many are open 24 hours a day and provide home delivery, and two new menu items are released each month. 78 percent of Chinese sites are company-owned, compared to 11 percent internationally.

Food delivery

Convenience

With China's online delivery services generating up to 45 billion USD in 2020, fast food chains like KFC were quick to introduce app-based ordering. In 2015, white-collar workers made up 65% of food delivery app users and 30.5% were students. In 2020, white-collar workers make up 83% of the users and students only made up 11%.

Environmental impacts

The cost of convenience with these food delivery apps comes from the environment in the form of waste. With takeout becoming more popular, packing waste increased ninefold from 2015 to 2017. The plastic waste produced from takeouts are a source of concern, with China banning single-use plastics at the end of 2020 and calling for businesses to use sustainable packaging. Food delivery apps use vehicles to deliver food, so carbon emissions will also increase with the higher demands of food delivery. The most wasteful would have to be delivery from restaurants nearby.

Menu items

Current exclusive items on the KFC menu sold in China as of 2020 according to kfc.com.cn are listed below:

Burgers

*Crispy Chicken Bafen Burger (脆鸡八分堡） *Zinger Burger (香辣鸡腿堡) *Extra Tasty Crispy Burger (劲脆鸡腿堡） *New Orleans Roasted Burger (新奥尔良烤鸡腿堡) *Bacon Chicken Burger (培根烤鸡腿堡) *BBQ Pulled Pork Burger (BBQ手撕猪肉堡) *Chicken & Shrimp Burger with Honey Mustard (伴鸡伴虾堡)

Twisters

*Dragon Twister (老北京鸡肉卷)

Rice

*Hot Spicy Chicken Rice (香辣鸡柳饭） *New Orleans Roasted Rice (新奥尔良烤鸡腿饭） *Teriyaki Chicken Chop Rice (香烤照鸡腿饭）

Snacks

*Original Recipe Chicken (吮指原味鸡） *Hot Wings (香辣鸡翅) (2 pieces) *New Orleans Roasted Wings (新奥尔良烤翅) (2 pieces) *Thai Spicy Roaster Wings (泰式香辣烤翅）(2 pieces) *Chicken Nuggets (黄金鸡块) (5 pieces) *

Popcorn chicken Popcorn chicken is a dish consisting of small, bite-sized pieces of chicken (about the size of popped corn kernels) that have been breaded and fried. The idea was originally developed by KFC in the 1990s but has since spread. KFC Popcorn chi ...

(劲爆鸡米花) (small and large) *French Fries (薯条) (small, medium and large) *Spicy Squid (辣小鲜鱿) *Flesh&Bone (骨肉相连)

Selected catering

*Egg & Vegetable Soup (芙蓉荟疏汤)（Off Shelf) *Mushroom Soup (菌菇四宝汤) *Corn Cob (香甜栗米棒) *Corn Salad (玉米沙拉） *Mashed Potato (士豆泥）

Desserts and drinks

*Oreo Floral Ice Cream (奥利奥花淇淋) *Taro Ball Floral Ice Cream (芋缘花淇淋) *Red Bean Pie (红豆派) *Portuguese Egg Tarts (葡式蛋挞) (classic) *Sundae (圣代) (chocolate and strawberry) *Ice Cream Cone (脆皮甜筒) *Pepsi Cola (百事可乐) *Sparkling Apple Juice Drink (苹果气泡果汁饮料) *9 Lives Juice Drink (九珍果汁饮料) *Ice Cream Float Coffee (雪顶咖啡) *Classic Milk Tea (香醇奶茶）(hot and iced) *Milk Tea with Red Bean and Stuffed Pearls (红豆圆奶茶）(iced) *Soy Milk (醇豆浆） *Hot Milk (热牛奶) *Classic Coffee (经典咖啡） *Americano (美式) (hot and iced) *Latte (拿铁) (hot and iced) *Cappuccino (卡布奇诺) (hot) *Mocha (摩卡) (hot)

References

External links

* Drewery, Hayden (

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...

).
West Meets East: KFC and Its Success in China
" ''Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History'',

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...

. {{KFC 1987 introductions 1987 establishments in China Fast-food chains of China KFC by country