KFC Case

“Kentucky
Fried
Chicken “ Presented by:
Case Study Debashis Sen
Namrata Prakash
Ritwik Ghosh
Sumanta Guha
•Founded by Harland Sanders in mid 1950s when fast
food franchising was still in its infancy. Colonel Sanders
was able to tap a latent market.
•Secret recipe of chicken with eleven herbs and spices.
•His foreseeing seemed to be true when in less than 13
years the chain had crossed the 300 mark.
•His growing age prompted Colonel Sanders to sell off
the business for $2 million in 1964 to Jack Massey and
John Brown Jr- two Louisville businessmen.
•In 1970 KFC merged with Heublein Inc, a producer of
alcoholic beverages with little restaurant experience.
•However soon enough conflicts arose regarding quality
control issues and restaurant cleanliness.
•In 1986 KFC was sold to Pepsico.
•Next KFC turned their attention towards tapping into
international markets and by around 1980s it had entered
Japan, Australia, Mexico and places in the Carribean and
UK.
•In the 1990s it could foresee the virgin markets of India
and China.
KFC`s success story:
•Colonel Sanders` commitment to quality and hygeine.
•PepsiCo taking over KFC proved to be a turning point in its
life cycle.
•Being a leader in its field Pepsico provided that extra edge
to KFC whereby the soft drinks were made available at KFC
outlets along with their menu.
•Coordinated through national advertising.
•Consumers were able to relate the soft drinks with the
snack foods.
•Was able to foresee a huge untapped market in the Asian
countries.
•“Think like a local…not like an American company”. KFC
gelled with the people as the operations were in their hands.
•Mellowed down their Fried Chicken image by changing
their name to KFC in 1991.
•Were able to provide a wider variety to the customers to
choose from, thus strengthening their market positions.
•Customisation in different countries. Different cultural
and customer preferences were taken into account to
attain GCTC [Getting Close To The Customers].
•KCF is also quite aware of its “CSR”.
Different relief programmes and
other social undertakings have been
well executed by them
Cultural factors contributing to KFC`s
“success” in INDIA and CHINA:
•Reducing the “Psychic Distance” by handing over
of operations to local people so that customers
could relate to them more easily.
•Able to adapt to cultural differences, tastes and

preferences. For example keeping in mind the
Indian taste buds KFC launched a fierier “Zinger
Burger”. In China different flavours of chinese tea
is made available in the KFC outlets.
•Got an edge since chicken is a staple dish and is taken
more frequently in Asian Countries.
•More accustomed to take out food over the counter.
•The target consumers of KFC [ upper middle and above]

are health conscious and hence to cater to their
interests Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to
KFC
•Price sensitivity of the two economies drove KFC to

introduce menus that were easy on the consumer`s
pocket.
Cultural factors in India that go against
KFC`s original recipe:
•KFC is perceived as a restaurant serving only chicken—
Indian families obviously wanted more variety.
•Believed to be expensive….no value for money.
•Wanted to position itself as a “Family Restaurant”, not
as a “Teenage Hangout”.
•Ambience was missing.
•Perceived difference in eating habits.
•Tried to target the vegetarian segment. However this
backfired as in India having veg food cooked in a non veg
kitchen doesn’t come out well with the vegeterian
segment.
•Ethical factors: The regulatory authorities found that
KFC's chickens did not adhere to the Prevention of
Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Chickens contained
nearly three times more monosodium glutamate
(popularly known as MSG, a flavor enhancing
ingredient) as allowed by the Act. Since the late
1990s, KFC faced severe protests by People for
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights
protection organization. PETA accused KFC of cruelty
towards chickens and released a video tape showing
the ill-treatment of birds in KFC's poultry farms.
Kentucky Fried Chicken >>>>>>> “KFC” :
•With the advent of time the consumer has become
more aware of what he is consuming and whether it is
worth the consumption. Hence more and more people are
health conscious and the name “fried chicken” itself
might be ringing quite a few bells in their minds.
Needles to say Kentucky Fried Chicken had to mellow
down this effect and so were prompted to change over
to KFC.
The MSG crisis:
The regulatory authorities found that the amount of
MSG, a flavour enhancing ingredient, in KFC is three
times more than the allowed amount.The marketing
strategy to handle this would be:
•To make widespread promotions stating that the
amount of MSG in KFC is within the permissible limit.
•Lay stress upon the fact that hygeine and customer
satisfaction have been always been given prime
importance in KFC
•Rope in well known celebrities and personalities to
support KFC and stress upon their hygeine conditions.
•Bring out commercials where the production process is
made transparent so that the consumers can decide
for themselves.
•Promotions should be done through all possible
channels to reach out to the masses and do as much
damage control as possible.
•Can also state the ingredients with each bucket of

fried chicken sold. This would allow the consumers to
quickly eye through the points and effect sales.
•The most important thing is to act at the right time.

Silence or delay in reaction can spell doom for the
company.
Political Upheavals in INDIA:
KFC has been facing protests and demonstrations by a
lot of political parties who tried to stop their
operations. Any demonstration does quite a damage to a
company`s image.
Reasons for the protests ??
• Cruel handling of the birds and the tortures inflicted
on them. The masses were being appealed to boycott
KFC. PETA had a huge role to play in this.
•The MSG issue. Use of Mono Sodium Glutomate in
more than permissible limits caused a lot of protests.
•Farmers rallied againsts globalisation and
corporatisation of agriculture and other sectors of the
state's economy.
Possible solutions:
•To tackle the points raised by PETA, KFC could raise
awareness by showing that they follow healthy
practices.
•Try to convince the customers that the amounts of
MSG used are within the permissible limits.
•Having their products tested at different laboratories
and getting their approval to back their statements.
•Make the government understand that even if KFC
enters the Indian market, they would be not following
unfair means. They would support healthy competition so
that everyone has a chance to capture their market at
the end of the day.
THANK YOU

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“Kentucky

•Able to adapt to cultural differences, tastes and

•More accustomed to take out food over the counter.

•The target consumers of KFC [ upper middle and above]

•Price sensitivity of the two economies drove KFC to

•Can also state the ingredients with each bucket of

•The most important thing is to act at the right time.

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