Tag: #kfc

NEVER TOO LATE TO SUCCEED

Life is a book full of opportunities and a new chapter can begin at any point in life. One is never too young to get started with new things, also one is never too old to start again. Dreams have no age limit. With hunger for success and the determination to achieve it, one can begin with new ventures at any point in life. With the same thought and will power, there are many successful people who begun their new journey in a later point in life. These two iconic brand owners also did start their journey of success when they were middle-aged.

COLONEL SANDERS

Harland David Sanders of Indiana, took up several jobs at an early age due to his father’s death, when he was six. He did numerous jobs, including, being a part of the army, working as a streetcar conductor, a rail road fireman and an insurance salesman. He failed numerous times and was fired on many of the jobs that he had taken up. He lost hopes on his career and retired at age sixty-five. He then started selling fried chicken cooked in his own recipe, door to door. He opened up a cafe, named Sander’s Cafe and marketed his dishes well. In 1952, Sanders franchised his secret recipe to Pete Harman, who operated one of the city’s largest restaurants. Upon gaining success with this venture, Sanders visited many other restaurants to franchise his fried chicken recipe. Soon, Kentucky’s Fried Chicken (KFC) gained enormous success. Sanders was overwhelmed with his chain of food outlets, spread around 600 different places. At the age of 73, Sanders sold his food chain brand for 2 million dollars. Today, KFC is one of the largest quick service food chains in the world, valued over 5.1 billion USD.

RAY KROC

Raymond Albert Kroc was born in a family of Czech origin. Since a young age, he began trying his hands on business ventures such as opening a lemonade stand and working at a soda fountain place. He worked as a salesman for Lily Tulip and his work culture got him connected with Earl Prince, the inventor of a multi mixture milkshake machine. Ray resigned from Lily Tulip and started selling those multi mixture machines and paper cups across the country. Kroc came across a restaurant which was apparently owned by Dick and Mac McDonald. They sold burgers, french fries and shakes. Kroc had only visited this place to supply his multi mixture shakes machine, but was highly impressed with the working of their restaurant. He soon took up their franchise as an agent but did not have enough investment income to buy the entire corporation. Ray set up the McDonald Corporation in 1955. With the help of MC Corporation’s first President, he was able to make an outright purchase of the brand from McDonald Brothers at age 52. Under his ownership, he maintained strict ownership regarding his staff, packaging, size of portions, cooking methods and lay an emphasis on innovations. All this contributed to the grandeur of the brand. Even in the present times, McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s leading global food service retailer with a net worth of $180.91 B in 2021.

It is apparent that, failures are the stepping stone to success. One may fall seven times but getting up the eighth time is a real feat, which one must achieve. Also, there is no age bar to begin with your passion. One must happily complete the journey of life by following his/her dreams.

KFC story in India, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)

KFC was the first foreign fast food restaurant chain to enter India in 1990s after the Indian government implemented the economic liberalisation policy. At that time, KFC received permission from the Indian government to open 30 outlets across the country. The first KFC outlet in India was opened in Bangalore in June 1995 and from 30 outlets, the number has grown to 296 today. Fast food restaurants have gained popularity in India because of their customised menus that suit the taste buds of the citizens. Many people have the misconception that KFC only sells fried chicken; this is not at all true. In India, KFC has added a number of vegetarian items on its menu – Veg Zinger, Veg Rice Bowlz, and Veg Strips.   

When KFC first entered the Indian market, there were a lot of protests, and the Bangalore outlet was repeatedly ransacked. Many Indians were worried that the Western culture would seep into the Indian roots, leading to the dilution of indigenous traditions. To prevent further onslaughts on the KFC outlet, the management of the KFC outlet demanded a police van to be permanently parked outside for almost a year. Another KFC outlet was opened in Delhi in the same year but the combined revenue of both the Bangalore and Delhi outlets was not sufficient to continue the KFC business in India. The reason why KFC did not gain popularity is because of anti-KFC movements that accused KFC of using illegally high amounts of monosodium glutamate, which are harmful to health. Also, the anti-KFC movements claimed that KFC sold food that was cooked and fried in pork fat. Given all these accusations against KFC, the fast food restaurant did not reap sufficient revenue to continue its operations in India. As a result, KFC had to abandon the Indian market.​​​​​​​

Once the Indian market cooled down, KFC returned to the country in 1999 and set up an outlet in Bangalore. Until 2004, KFC only operated one outlet in India. As the sole outlet started making money, KFC expanded its operations throughout India and today, KFC outlets can be found in a number of cities. KFC has come a long way since its establishment in India in 1995. Despite facing a rejection from consumers, KFC did not lose hope in the Indian market. Instead of eliminating India from its venues of operation, it analysed the problems faced by KFC in India and worked hard to resolve them.   It is this tenacity that won the hearts and stomachs of millions of Indians, who finally decided to embrace KFC’s dishes and give KFC a second chance.

KFC (short for Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world’s second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald’s, with 22,621 locations globally in 150 countries as of December 2019. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum ! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and WingStreet chains.

KFC was founded by Colonel 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 the restaurant franchising concept, 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 to this day. However, the company’s rapid expansion overwhelmed the aging Sanders, and he sold it to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey in 1964.

KFC was one of the first American fast-food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it 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; that company sold the chain to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas, however, and in 1987, it became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. It has since expanded rapidly in China, which is now the company’s single largest market. PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum ! Brands.

KFC’s original product is pressure-fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders’ recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe are a trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard “bucket”, which has become a feature 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 sandwiches 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 its slogans “It’s Finger Lickin’ Good !”, “Nobody does chicken like KFC”, and “So good”.