KFC Story: History, Challenges and Current Status

KFC, the most famous food store for chicken lovers. Whenever we think of fried chicken wings our brain immediately takes us to the KFC outlets. Want to know the interesting story behind KFC? So, here is an incredible story behind the success of KFC and the story of the founder is very interesting as well.

 

There are some entrepreneurial myths like you have to start at a very young age to become a successful entrepreneur. But, the owner of KFC has proved this myth wrong. Once Dallas Clayton said, “It’s never too late to start something new, to do all those things that you’ve been longing to do.” Now, you can see how this proverb stands perfect for the owner of KFC. Thus, in the blog, you will learn about the journey of the owner of this successful food store 'Colonel Harland Sanders'.

 

"MTV is to music as KFC is to chicken!" ~ Lewis Black

 

So, let's scan the blog to know the inspirational startup story of KFC. Also, you will get to know about its founder, its history, startup challenges, some secrets of its success, its present reputation, and many more latest updates related to your favourite food store 'KFC'.

 

Who is the founder of KFC?

 

The founder of KFC is the one who is among the entrepreneurs, and who had begun late in life and had a very inspiring life. At the age of 62 when people generally start considering their retirement, Colonel Harland Sanders founded KFC. He was born on 9 September 1890 in Henryville, Indiana, U.S. and at the age of 90, on 16 December 1980, he died in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

When he was 5 years old, his father passed away. He had the responsibility of feeding his family. His mother taught him how to cook at the early age of seven. So, he did several small jobs to make a living. However, when he was around forty he ran a restaurant in Kentucky. He had a special self-made recipe of fried chicken that was loved by people. He wanted to make it an internationally known recipe. 

 

Finally, at the age of 62, he started his journey with very little money in his pocket. He would go door to door with his chicken recipe. He was rejected several times before he got his first franchise. So, this is the small journey of Harland Sanders towards this huge franchise KFC. Also, Pete Harman who was an American businessman was known for having struck a pact with Colonel Harland Sanders to open the first KFC franchise. (Related Blog: Read this blog to know about the success story of OLA.)

 

History of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)

 

People are crazy about KFC's chicken so after reading this blog, definitely, they will go to KFC. So, let's have a glimpse at the history of KFC in detail.

 

• Kentucky Fried Chicken, or as we know it today- KFC, started in 1952 in Utah.

• In July 1940, Harland created his unique recipe with 11 herbs and some flavours.

• Harland Sanders had gone through a lot and finally, he revealed his secret recipe to his friend Pete Harman.

• Pete was the operator of one of that city’s biggest restaurants and with Pete's help, Harland opened his first KFC franchise.

• Many international restaurants wanted to buy the KFC franchise. A lot of big investors started buying shares of KFC. 

• Even after the huge success of KFC, Sanders used to visit all the KFC restaurants around the world.

• One of the fascinating truths that rouse each individual is that he did not have any salesperson that promoted his Franchise. He did everything alone and his franchise got famous. 

• Diverse franchisees began contacting him out. KFC chicken had lots of outlets however didn't have signature outlets.

• At the point when he was 74, youthful lawyer John Y. Earthy coloured, Jr. from Kentucky and Jack Massey meet Colonel Sanders to buy the organization. Both comforted Colonel for a long time with the guarantee to keep up better quality control for the franchise. 

• They likewise guarantee to never change the recipe of Colonel. It was a simple choice for Colonel Sanders.

• He toured to every part of the nation to look for the best guidance about selling his organization from franchisees members and business partners.

• Finally, he understood that the organization is hard to develop and control alone. So, in 1964 he agreed to sell his organization with a proposal of $ 2 million.

• He was not at all happy with this deal as it was one of the most vital and significant things throughout his life. 

• The new proprietor of KFC accepted that the face of Sander's was perhaps the best resource for the "KFC brand".

• He was kept as a brand ambassador and for the role of brand ambassador and representative, he gets a lifetime pay of about $40,000 every year.

 

So, that's how he became the brand ambassador of KFC. Even now, we can see his picture in the logo of KFC.

 

 

What were the Startup Challenges?

 

You have likely consumed KFC at least once in your lifetime. KFC is very popular all over the world. So, let's read about the startup challenges faced by the owner of KFC. Have you ever been rejected again and again? If yes, then have you tried again and again or just gave up? So, the founder of your favourite restaurant KFC Harland Sanders faced this same situation. But, he took his failure as a chance and gave rise to the best chicken store. He concentrated on the fried chicken when there was the dominance of hamburgers.

 

"Leslie entered the lounge like a taller, studlier version of the Kentucky Fried Chicken colonel"- Douglas Coupland

 

After the death of his father, he was forced to work for his family as he was the elder among his siblings. He got fired from his job several times and he had a very tough time during his childhood. But, after confronting difficulties he came up with a very incredible idea of frying chicken. His recipe was unique and after opening one store, he finally got success. There were so many startup challenges faced by the owner of KFC but after all complications, he gave us his very delicious fried chicken.

 

 

The Concealed Secrets of KFC's Success

 

The time factor plays a vital role in KFC’s success. Usually, when people go to restaurants, they expect to get their food as early as possible. Sandlers used the pressure cooker to make food ready to eat faster. It also makes food hygienic and tastier. The recipe of fried chicken was made by Colonel Sanders himself. Therefore, it is the copyright of the KFC franchise.

 

Any other type of chicken cannot match the taste that KFC’s fried chicken has. This recipe cannot be used by any other franchise. Another reason that has led KFC into success is the franchise system followed by KFC restaurants all over the world. There are several rules and regulations for every restaurant which are supposed to be followed at any cost. Some of the rules of the documentation are as follows-

 

1. A pressure cooker must be used to cook the chicken. No other utensils should be used.

2. Also, after the chicken is cooked, it should be left in the cooker for about 15 minutes.

3. The size and weight of every piece of chicken are fixed. It should be 8cm wide and the weight should be around 300 grams.

 

"Globalization by the way of McDonald’s and KFC has captured the hearts, the minds, and from what I can see through the window, the growing bellies of the folks here." ~ Raquel Cepeda. 

 

4. The chicken which is to be used the next day must have gone through overnight marination.

5. Chicken’s age is fixed between 60-70 days. All these rules have proved to be the major reason behind the success of KFC.

6. KFC provides employment opportunities for deaf people. Even at some KFC outlets, they teach their deaf workers to read lips movements. It helps a lot for deaf people to work and earn for livelihood. ( Related Blog: The tale of Zomato )

 

Discussing the Current Reputation of KFC

 

So, want to know the present situation of KFC? Yes! It's still growing day by day. Read further to know the current reputation of KFC.

 

• Yum! Brand s is the current parent company of KFC.

• As of early 2020, there are KFC outlets in 150 countries and territories of the globe.

• KFC is the globe's second-biggest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with 22,621 areas globally in 150 countries as of December 2019.

• During this coronavirus pandemic, KFC has decided to remove its slogan "It's Finger-Lickin' Good," from ads. However, KFC is still sticking to its slogan in India.

• KFC India is trying out edible serving bowls in India to make its products more eco-friendly. Edible bowls made of tortillas (freshly cooked every day) will replace the plastic ones.

• KFC has announced that they have temporarily cancelled the slogan because of the COVID-19 situation but they will return with the same slogan at the right time.

 

Conclusion

 

Hope so, your doubts about the history of KFC, it's concrete secrets behind its success, present status is emptied. Now, we can conclude by saying that Colonel Harland Sanders was one of the people who successfully dealt with his depression. Even, at the age of 62, he started such a great food store which no one can beat even now. 

 

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is an extremely popular restaurant in the realm and the story behind the victory of KFC is inspirational. KFC's chicken is different from other stores' chicken and whenever the name chicken comes, the word KFC hits people's minds. The slogan of KFC perfectly matches as after eating KFC's chicken we lick our fingers, yes it is that tasty! Stay tuned with us for Several Startup Stories which will reveal numerous things related to your favourite restaurants and known companies.