Posted on 05/26/2015 5:34:42 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
These are dark days for KFC's once-dominant chicken empire. After five years of crumbling sales, the extra crispy mega-chain, which in 2012 lost its throne as America's top chicken seller to Chick-fil-A, now makes less money than eateries half its size, like Applebee's and Panera Bread.
Now, 75 years after "Colonel" Harland Sanders first served his original recipe at a six-seat dining table in rural Kentucky, the chain is betting $185 million on a massive, bizarre turnaround campaign in hopes of winning a seat again at the fast-food table.
The chain is blasting out TV ads, offering new Southern-style grub and remodeling some of its 4,300 stores with humanized touches, like boards they say will name the regional farm where their chickens came from.
Perhaps KFC's biggest gamble: Reviving the long-dead visage of Colonel Sanders himself, "the brand’s greatest asset," with a handful of increasingly odd "web, broadcast, social media and in-store experiences."(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Any claim that they are using the Colonel’s recipe is preposterous.
As a side note, they just brought back their (seasonal) peach shake, which is absolutely delicious. IMHO, nothing beats a Chick Fil-A Spicy Deluxe sandwich with a peach shake. YUM.
I disregard their politics entirely. They abuse everyone on the show. If more Libs could laugh at themselves, it would be a better place.
KFC was “out of chicken” the last two times I went there. Fine by me; I only went there because my wife likes the glop they call mashed potatoes. Chik-fil-A for me.
Two different food groups.
When KFC decided to add tons of salt to their ‘special recipe’ I lost interest. I occasionally get a pot pie and then have to drink way to much water to recover. The chicken for years has been just pretty much blah
Chik Fil A is da bomb. Breakfast minis are perfecto. I like both the origianl and spicy sandwiches but the soup and the chicken salad sandwich are great too. I enjoy their Asian salad as well. And those milk shakes or the lemonade are great drinks
They just do it right....PLUS the staff is focused on customer service and are delightful
true words
not even close
I don't want day old chicken because the franchise is hurting for cash, no,
if you're going to go down at least go down making the best chicken you can, KFC, and
stop serving day old rubber.
“Only once have I eaten at Chick-fil-a, and while the food was good the serving was very, very skimpy. I’m a light eater, but I was still hungry after my lunch. But I will say at least the food was edible, unlike so many fast food places. For that kind of grub I like Wendy’s best, their chili can’t be beat.”
Agree about expensive small portions at CFA and the wonderfulness of Wendy’s chili, which is about the only fast food I’ll eat. Well, maybe the occasional Freddy’s steakburger formulated as a lettuce wrap.
We don’t have Freddy’s but 5 guys is pretty good. Their fries are actually phenomenal because they are made fresh. I guess this is where KFC got the idea of telling you where your chicken came from, because 5 Guys always has some sign telling you where the potatoes are from. They also have sack of potatoes lining the walls, like sandbags!
I usually get the hot dog now, because they don’t toast the buns and they get soggy and I kind of hate that. But it’s worth it to go there for the french fries. Also if you like peanuts they just have them and you can eat as many as you like.
And hubby always has loved Fudruckers, he makes a salad from their “fixin’s bar”.
But I think in NJ they will only make you a burger “medium”. And ALL of Philly is like that now, so stupid. We ate there in one of the little casinos once and the burgers we got were perfectly ruined due to some Nazi Nanny’s fear that we’d die if we ate a rare burger.
If only she/he knew me and hubby she’d realize that was a very misplaced fear.
Rambling on about burgers here!
The KFC near our house has good chicken. Chick-fil-a is excellent, but pricey for fast food.
Best of all is Colonel Chandler’s mesquite grilled chicken.
Good point, but I have also noticed what I consider fraudulent practices by eateries trying to capitalize on the local food movement. They import product, but advertise as locally sourced.
$185 million ain’t chicken feed.
There is always the Kentucky Fried Chicken movie.....
I remember KFC when it first came out before the chain. When the Colonel was still driving around to get stores to try it.Evans Supermarket in Ashland,Ky. sold it. I got hooked on them innards then. Always get a pint at Lee’s.
I think it was Goldfinger that made Kentucky Fried Chicken famous. It had a lot of prime shots in the flick.
“I’ll have to admit to not being familiar with “Portlandia.” I believe it will be worth me checking it out.”
Fundamentally, Portlandia is a comedic sendup of liberals, metrosexuals, modern wussies, etc. Some of the skits are hit or miss, but when they hit, they can be real howlers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.