Do you know Kentucky Fried Chicken? It is popularly known to many as KFC, a major fast-food restaurant chain. However, it traces its origin from America. Its headquarter is in Louisville, Kentucky. As the name suggests, it specializes mainly in fried chicken and smoky flavorful sauces, but they don’t stop there. KFC has a variety of different menu items that are sure to give you a taste adventure. You might be a person who likes to try something new in your dining experience such as the “mac and cheese burger” or the “chicken cordon blue salad. ” If this sounds like you, then you’ve found your next dining experience at KFC.
Do you know the founder of KFC? Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur, managed to sell fried chicken, and to cut a long story short, the rest is now history. He established it in 1952 at North Corbin, Kentucky (United States). KFC has since become one of the most popular restaurants in the world. It comes second after McDonald’s as the largest restaurant chain on a global rank. They have already launched a new menu in 2022 that features meatless fried chicken.
Kentucky Fried Chicken is going to sell a new menu item that contains no chicken — but tastes like it does. https://t.co/aePlUmqpGM
— CNN (@CNN) January 5, 2022
Best Delicacies
Known for their finger-lickin’ good slogan, many say they have the best chicken. The franchise also boasts of tasty fries. Recently, KFC Kenya announced that they were short of potatoes. It came about after the festive season when they said that due high number of customers and their love for the fries, they regretted announcing the depletion of potatoes. It was a shock to many Kenyan citizens who asked where they got the potatoes. Did you know that the fast-food chain imports its potatoes from overseas? Me neither! There were delays from their supplies that caused the shortage.
Is KFC in trouble?
What now for the restaurants? Did they close? They introduced local meals such as the ugali in place of the fries in combo deals. Jacques Theunissen, KFC’s Chief Executive for East Africa, said that the Corona pandemic played a part in delays in shipping lines. He added that the ships had been on standby for nearly a month. The good news is that they were working on bringing the first containers as soon as possible.
The franchise, whic operates locally under the Kuku Foods East Africa, claims that they follow the global quality standards hence do not source the potatoes from within the country. Earlier, the firm also confirmed that it is hard to bypass the approval procedures that allow them to accept potatoes from the local farmers. However, they claim that overseas potatoes are safe for consumption compared to the local ones.
Reaction from Kenyans
Kenyans questioned why the company could not support the local farmers and help them meet the standards required. The potato market fetches about 50 billion Kenya shillings to the country’s economy, creating about 2.5 million employment opportunities. The potato comes second after maize as about 800,000 small-scale farmers grow the food crop.
Farmers can boost farm incomes by improving potato production, as argued by CIP, The International Potato Center. China produces about 73 million tons of potato, making it the largest crop producer.
Competition among the fast-food providers
During the shortage at KFC, other fast food outlets in Kenya have taken this opportunity to boast of their availability of fries. Others even went ahead, taking their advertisements a notch higher with the tagline ‘We have enough fries for everyone.’ The tagline was from Burger King. Other competitors such as Subway and Chicken Inn also benefit from their competitor’s problems.
Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, hosts several multinational corporations or organizations (MNCs), making it suitable for attracting global restaurant franchises. As if the sale of food is not enough, these fast-food joints benefit from offering delivery services to their customers. In November 2018 alone, KFC made 30,000 food deliveries within Kenya. The number contributes to 60 percent of the deliveries within East Africa.
KFC’s operation in Kenya began in 2011, and its other shops in Rwanda and Uganda. The food chain operates only 35 outlets, but its outlets are in East Africa. In addition, 145 countries and territories host KFC, making it have over 24,000 outlets worldwide.
Final Thought
KFC has always been driven by the same goal, to provide simple fast food that everyone can enjoy. However, as part of its expansion into the world market, KFC must adapt to different consumer tastes and develop new products that appeal to a growing population.
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