KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN (CFK) HISTORY

Harland Sanders devised his formula for making fried chicken at his restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky. He continued to develop it and by the early 1950s he believed that he had a successful formula that could be franchised. He attended a foodservice seminar in Chicago, where he met Pete Harmon, who operated a hamburger restaurant in Salt Lake City. Harmon became the first franchisee for what would become Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Sander’s chicken was the most successful item on Harmon’s menu — accounting for 50 percent of his entire sales — and he urged Sanders to sell his recipe and methods for frying it nationwide. When Sanders’s own restaurant failed in 1955, he went on the road selling franchises. Lacking money to promote his company, he dressed in a distinctive white suit and a black string neck tie, which set off his white hair and white goatee (the Colonel Sanders image). He charged no fee, but franchisees paid him a few cents on each chicken sold. Franchisees were required to display KFC signs and his likeness. It was a good formula for commercial success. By 1963, Sanders had 600 restaurants under license, all of which sold his chicken but had little else in common.

In 1964, Sanders sold KFC to John Y. Brown and Jack Massey for about $2 million, plus an additional salary of $40,000 per year for life to act as a spokesperson for the company. Brown and Massy stopped licensing existing restaurants. In 1966, they required a uniform structure for every franchise. They changed their franchising agreement so that royalties were based on a percentage of sales and franchisees were required to purchase some goods and seasonings from the parent company. In addition, franchisees were charged an annual advertising fee, and the company launched a major promotional blitz which cultivated a family image. Brown and Massey quickly expanded franchises. By the late 1960s, its sales exceeded that of McDonald’s. In 1970, KFC had more than 6,000 franchise agreements. It dominated the fast food chicken market and during the early 1970s became the nation’s largest commercial foodservice operation.

KFC had an influence upon other fast food chains. Dave Thomas was a KFC regional manager who worked closely with Harland Sanders. Th omas used the $1 million he generated though KFC to launch his own fast food chain, Wendy’s, in 1969. When KFC began opening outlets in New Orleans, Al Copeland was encouraged to launch his own chicken chain, which he called Popeyes. McDonald’s saw the KFC sales figures and created Chicken McNuggets to compete in the chicken line. Burger King launched a similar product and KFC finally developed a similar product of its own to compete with McNuggets.

In 1971, Brown and Massey sold KFC to the Heublein Company for a reported $280 million. Heublein was purchased by R. J. Reynolds in 1982, which sold it to PepsiCo in 1986. Over the years, KFC lost its first-place position among commercial foodservice operations and it was in need of rejuvenation. Due to the public’s deep concern with anything fried, the company changed its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to just KFC, to eliminate the word fried from its name. However, it soon returned to its original name.

KFC began opening outlets in other countries, which have fared extremely well. KFC was the first American fast food chain in Japan. From its start in 1970, it was a joint venture with Mitsubishi Trading Company, which encouraged development of a local menu, such as yaki-musubi (grilled riceballs) and yaki musubi (toasted riceballs), that would appeal to the Japanese. KFC was one of the fi rst fast food chains in China and today it is the most-recognized foreign brand in China. Today, KFC has outlets in 45 countries and has more restaurants outside the United States than within it.

PepsiCo used KFC and other restaurant chains as outlets for its for its soft drinks. Other large fast food chains, such as McDonald’s, refused to dispense Pepsi beverages due to competition with the PepsiCo-owned restaurants. PepsiCo divested itself of KFC and other restaurant subsidiaries by creating Tricon Global Restaurants, later renamed Yum! Brands .

By Andrew F. Smith in "Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food", Greenwood Press, USA & UK, 2006. Excerpts p.148-149. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa

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