History of KFC

{{See also|Colonel Sanders}}

Harland Sanders was born in 1890 and raised on a farm outside Henryville, Indiana.{{cite news|last=Whitworth|first=William|title=Kentucky-Fried|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1970/02/14/kentucky-fried|access-date=February 23, 2013|newspaper=New Yorker|date=February 14, 1970|archive-date=April 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415084254/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1970/02/14/kentucky-fried|url-status=live}} His father died in 1895, and to make ends meet his mother took work at a canning plant.{{cite book|author-link=James C. Klotter|last=Klotter|first=James C.|title=The Human Tradition in the New South|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2UtXHKGj0sC&pg=PA210|access-date=June 29, 2013|year=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-4476-5|pages=129–136|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151216/https://books.google.com/books?id=X2UtXHKGj0sC&pg=PA210|url-status=live}} As the eldest child at the age of five, Sanders was left to care for his two siblings. When he turned seven, his mother taught him how to cook. After leaving the family home at age 13, Sanders pursued several professions including railroad worker and insurance salesman, with mixed success.{{cite book|last=Sanders |first=Harland |title=The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef |year=2012 |publisher=KFC |location=Louisville |page=15 |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055011/https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }} In 1930, he took over a Shell filling station on U.S. Route 25 at the point it split into east and west spurs{{Cite web|url=https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/overlay/KY/KY_Corbin_708434_1952_24000_geo.jpg|title=US Geological Survey Map from 1952|access-date=June 18, 2023|archive-date=June 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618234104/https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/img4/ht_icons/overlay/KY/KY_Corbin_708434_1952_24000_geo.jpg|url-status=live}} outside North Corbin, a small city on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains. By June, he had converted a storeroom into a small eating area using his own dining table, serving meals such as steaks and country ham to travelers.{{cite book|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=Colonel Sanders and the American Dream|year=2012|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74285-7|page=21}}

File:Col Sanders Restaurant.png]]

In 1934, Sanders took over the lease of the Pure Oil filling station on the other side of the road, due to its greater visibility for motorists.{{cite book|last=Sanders |first=Harland |title=The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef |year=2012 |publisher=KFC |location=Louisville |page=39 |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055011/https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }} He then began to sell fried chicken.{{cite book|last=Sanders |first=Harland |title=The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef |year=2012 |publisher=KFC |location=Louisville |page=40 |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055011/https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }} To improve his skills, Sanders took an eight-week restaurant-management course at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=J. Y.|title=Col. Sanders, the Fried-Chicken Gentleman, Dies|newspaper=Washington Post|date=December 17, 1980}} By 1936, his business had proved successful enough for him to be given the honorary title of Kentucky colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon.{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|title=Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq3tvL_uIHcC&pg=PA612|date=December 2, 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-39394-5|page=612|access-date=February 21, 2016|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151151/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq3tvL_uIHcC&pg=PA612|url-status=live}} In 1937, Sanders expanded his restaurant to 140 seats, and in 1940 purchased a motel across the street, the Sanders Court & Café.

Sanders was dissatisfied with the 35 minutes it took to prepare his chicken in an iron frying pan, but he did not want to deep fry. Although a much faster process, in Sanders' opinion it produced dry and crusty chicken that was unevenly cooked.{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Harland|title=The Incredible Colonel|year=1974|publisher=Creation House|location=Illinois|page=98|isbn=978-0-88419-053-0}} On the other hand, if he prepared the chicken in advance of an order, there was sometimes waste at the end of the day. In 1939, the first commercial pressure cookers were released onto the market, predominantly designed for steaming vegetables.{{cite book|last=Binney|first=Ruth|title=Wise Words and Country Ways for Cooks|date=April 1, 2012|publisher=David & Charles|isbn=978-0-7153-3420-1|page=202}} Sanders bought one and modified it into a pressure fryer, which he then used to prepare chicken.{{cite news|last=Grimes|first=William|title=From Colonel Sanders: Roots And Chicken|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/travel/in-kentucky-fried-chicken-history.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 26, 2012|access-date=February 8, 2017|archive-date=December 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230063948/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/travel/in-kentucky-fried-chicken-history.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}} The new method reduced production time to be comparable with deep frying, yet, in Sanders' opinion, retained the quality of pan-fried chicken. In July 1940, Sanders finalized what came to be known as his Original Recipe of 11 herbs and spices.{{cite news|last=Schreiner|first=Bruce|title=KFC still guards Colonel's secret|url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072305/bus_19314459.shtml|access-date=September 19, 2013|newspaper=Associated Press|date=July 23, 2005|archive-date=October 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004193700/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072305/bus_19314459.shtml|url-status=dead}} Although he never publicly revealed the recipe, he admitted to the use of salt and pepper, and claimed that the ingredients "stand on everybody's shelf".{{cite book|last=Sanders |first=Harland |title=The Autobiography of the Original Celebrity Chef |year=2012 |publisher=KFC |location=Louisville |page=42 |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055011/https://s3.amazonaws.com/colcookbook/us/pdf/English_FullBook.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }}

After being recommissioned as a Kentucky colonel in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby, Sanders began to dress the part, growing a goatee and wearing a black frock coat (later switching to a white suit), a string tie, and referring to himself as "Colonel".{{cite book|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=Colonel Sanders and the American Dream|year=2012|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74285-7|pages=35–6}} His associates went along with the title change, "jokingly at first and then in earnest", according to biographer Josh Ozersky.{{cite book|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=Colonel Sanders and the American Dream|year=2012|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74285-7|page=25}}

The Sanders Court & Café generally served travelers, so when the route planned in 1955 for Interstate 75 bypassed Corbin, Sanders sold his properties and traveled the US to market his chicken concept to restaurant owners.{{cite book|author1=John A. Jakle|author2=Keith A. Sculle|title=Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nYcgnWKWXgC|access-date=March 13, 2013|year=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-6920-4|page=219|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151226/https://books.google.com/books?id=0nYcgnWKWXgC|url-status=live}} Independent restaurant owners would pay four cents on each chicken sold as a franchise fee (later increased to five cents), in exchange for Sanders' "secret blend of herbs and spices", his recipe and method, and the right to advertise using his name and likeness.{{cite news |title=Leon W. 'Pete' Harman: the operational father of KFC has many goals — and retiring isn't one of them |author=Liddle, Alan |url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-18779118/leon-w-pete-harman-operational-father-kfc-has-many |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508210957/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-18779118/leon-w-pete-harman-operational-father-kfc-has-many |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 8, 2013 |newspaper=Nation's Restaurant News |date=October 14, 1996 |access-date=July 1, 2012}} In 1952, he had already successfully franchised his chicken recipe to Pete Harman of South Salt Lake, Utah, the operator of one of the most prominent restaurants in the city.{{cite web|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/595057690/Colonels-landmark-KFC-is-mashed.html|title=Colonel's landmark KFC is mashed|access-date=October 28, 2007|publisher=Deseret Morning News|year=2004|author=Nii, Jenifer K.|archive-date=January 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113154352/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/595057690/Colonels-landmark-KFC-is-mashed.html|url-status=dead}}

Rodney L. Anderson, a sign painter from Roy, Utah who was hired by Harman, coined the name "Kentucky Fried Chicken".{{cite news |title=Pete Harman |author=Liddle, Alan |newspaper=Nation's Restaurant News |date=May 21, 1990}} Sanders adopted the name because it distinguished his product from the deep-fried "Southern fried chicken" product found in restaurants.{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Harland|title=The Incredible Colonel|year=1974|publisher=Creation House|location=Illinois|page=97|isbn=978-0-88419-053-0}} Harman claimed that in his first year of selling "Kentucky Fried Chicken", his restaurant sales more than tripled, with 75 percent of the increase coming from the sale of fried chicken.{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=Jodi|title=Chicken Big and the Citizen Senior|newspaper=Washington Post|date=November 9, 1969}} In Utah, a product from Kentucky was exotic and evoked imagery of Southern hospitality.

As a franchise-led operation, KFC's success depended on the work of the early franchisees. Harman has been described as the "virtual co-founder" of the chain by Sanders' biographer.{{cite book|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=Colonel Sanders and the American Dream|year=2012|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74285-7|page=40}} Harman trademarked the phrase "It's finger lickin' good", which was eventually adopted as a slogan across the entire chain. In 1957, Harman bundled 14 pieces of chicken, five bread rolls and a pint of gravy into a cardboard bucket, and offered it to families as "a complete meal" for US$3.50 (around US$30 in 2014). He first test-trialed the packaging as a favor to Sanders, who had called on behalf of a Denver franchisee who did not know what to do with 500 cardboard buckets he had bought from a traveling salesman.

By 1956, Sanders had six or eight franchisees, including Dave Thomas, who eventually founded the Wendy's restaurant chain.{{cite web|url=http://www.anb.org/articles/10/10-02290.html|title=Dave Thomas|last=Wepman|first=Dennis|publisher=American National Biography Online|access-date=April 22, 2009|archive-date=January 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104074503/http://www.anb.org/articles/10/10-02290.html|url-status=live}} Thomas developed the rotating red bucket sign, was an early advocate of the take-out concept that Harman had pioneered, and introduced a bookkeeping form that Sanders rolled out across the entire KFC chain.{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=R. David|title=Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|access-date=April 4, 2013|date=October 1, 1992|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|isbn=978-0-425-13501-3|page=95|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065757/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|url-status=live}} Thomas sold his shares in 1968 for US$1 million (around US$7 million in 2013), and became regional manager for all KFC restaurants east of the Mississippi before founding Wendy's in 1969.{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=R. David|title=Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|access-date=April 4, 2013|date=October 1, 1992|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|isbn=978-0-425-13501-3|page=102|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065757/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|url-status=live}}

In 1956, Sanders moved the company headquarters from Corbin to Shelbyville, Kentucky, which offered superior transport links to distribute his spices, pressure cookers, take-out cartons and advertising material to franchisees.

KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger.{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|title=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWlCmNDA3QC|access-date=March 11, 2013|page=341|date=May 1, 2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-530796-2|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151232/https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWlCmNDA3QC|url-status=live}} In 1960, the company had around 200 franchised restaurants; by 1963, this had grown to over 600, making it the largest fast food operation in the United States. In 1963, Sanders met John Y. Brown, Jr, a young Kentucky encyclopaedia salesman, who explained that he was keen to join the company.{{cite news|last=Demaret|first=Kent|title=Kissin', but Not Cousins, John Y. and Phyllis George Aim to Do Kentucky Up Brown|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20074866,00.html|access-date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=People Magazine|date=October 22, 1979|archive-date=June 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622100752/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20074866,00.html|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Harland|title=The Incredible Colonel|year=1974|publisher=Creation House|location=Illinois|page=121|isbn=978-0-88419-053-0}} Sanders instead proposed the sale of the company, as he lacked an obvious or willing heir among his relatives.{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=R. David|title=Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|access-date=April 4, 2013|date=October 1, 1992|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|isbn=978-0-425-13501-3|page=86|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065757/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|url-status=live}}

Lacking sufficient funds himself, Brown convinced the Tennessee financier Jack C. Massey to provide 60 percent of the acquisition capital, and provided a major contribution himself, with smaller contributions from franchise holder Pete Harman and company officials Lee Cummings and Harlan Adams.{{cite book|last=Carey|first=Bill|title=Master of the Big Board: The Life, Times And Businesses of Jack Massey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRzlr2LMtDEC|access-date=April 10, 2013|date=September 30, 2005|publisher=Cumberland House Publishing|isbn=978-1-58182-471-1|pages=64–72|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065853/https://books.google.com/books?id=sRzlr2LMtDEC|url-status=live}} Sanders began to have doubts about selling the company, as some members of his family were against it. Massey, knowing that Sanders believed in astrology, chose a day when Sanders's horoscope would be unusually positive to make a written offer. After checking his horoscope, Sanders accepted.{{Cite journal |last=Carey |first=Bill |title=Sweet taste of success |url=http://www.sitemason.com/files/ez8LkY/masseycolumn.pdf |journal=The Tennessee Magazine |issue=April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115170644/http://www.sitemason.com/files/ez8LkY/masseycolumn.pdf |archive-date=January 15, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Coomes|first=Steve|title=John Y. Brown Jr.: Colonel's sale of KFC 50 years ago changed restaurant industry forever|url=http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2014/03/11/john-y-brown-jr-colonels-sale-kfc-50-years-ago-changed-restaurant-industry-forever/|access-date=March 30, 2014|newspaper=Insider Louisville|date=March 11, 2014|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140330195145/http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2014/03/11/john-y-brown-jr-colonels-sale-kfc-50-years-ago-changed-restaurant-industry-forever/|archive-date=March 30, 2014}} The group acquired the company in 1964 for US$2 million (around US$15 million in 2013). The contract included a lifetime salary for Sanders and the agreement that he would be the company's quality controller and trademark.{{cite news|last=Cottreli|first=Robert|title=Obituary: Colonel Sanders|newspaper=Financial Times|date=December 17, 1980}}

File:Colonel Harland Sanders in character.jpg

Massey and Brown introduced standardization to the fragmented company. After visiting Pete Harman's operations in Utah, they began to implement the stand-alone take-out model across the entire chain. Franchisees were ordered to delist their own menu items so that they could concentrate on KFC products.{{cite book|last=Aaseng|first=Nathan|title=Business Builders in Fast Food|url=https://archive.org/details/businessbuilders00nath_0|url-access=registration|access-date=March 13, 2013|date=January 1, 2001|publisher=The Oliver Press, Inc.|isbn=978-1-881508-58-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/businessbuilders00nath_0/page/125 125]}} The restaurants were re-branded with a distinctive red-and-white striped color pattern and mansard roofs with cupolas.{{cite web|title=KFC Corporation|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3427200156.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508183103/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3427200156.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 8, 2013|publisher=Company Profiles for Students|access-date=January 13, 2013}} {{subscription required}} The roll-out of freestanding stores accelerated the company's growth as outlets exclusively selling fried chicken proved to be more appealing to potential franchisees.

Despite selling the company, Sanders retained significant moral authority over executives and franchisees and made his feelings clear when he disagreed with corporate decisions. When Massey moved company headquarters from Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee, Sanders was quoted as saying, "This ain't no goddam Tennessee Fried Chicken, no matter what some slick, silk-suited son-of-a-bitch says".{{cite book |title=The Human Tradition in the New South |author-link=James C. Klotter |last=Klotter |first=James C.|year=2005 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-4476-5 |pages=150–152}} He believed that the company had reneged on their contract with him when they opened operations in Canada, arguing that the contract had granted him the exclusive rights to operate there.{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Harland|title=The Incredible Colonel|year=1974|publisher=Creation House|location=Illinois|page=130|isbn=978-0-88419-053-0}} KFC was forced to renegotiate with Sanders regarding the Canadian activities, as he owned $1.5 million worth of stock and was using it to prevent Massey from listing the company publicly until his points of issue were addressed.{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Harland|title=The Incredible Colonel|year=1974|publisher=Creation House|location=Illinois|pages=130–131|isbn=978-0-88419-053-0}} Brown and Massey claimed that Sanders only had the rights to process chicken in Canada. After they renegotiated the contract to guarantee Sanders exclusive rights over Canada, he sold his stock to them, and the company went public in 1966. After going public, the company bought out its 600 franchisees and directly operated them itself. Later that year, Massey resigned from day-to-day management of the company (although he remained as chairman), and Brown relocated company headquarters to Louisville, Kentucky.

KFC had become the sixth largest restaurant chain in the US by sales volume by 1967, and 30 percent of sales were take-out. Brown felt that the company had to expand quickly, or else emerging rivals such as Church's Chicken would steal the company's lead; 863 outlets were opened in 1968. The company's growth pushed its stock value to "stratospheric" levels, according to Reuters, and in 1969 it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.{{cite news|agency=Reuters|title=Kentucky Fried to Add Grilled Chicken Items to Menu|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-23-fi-360-story.html|access-date=February 5, 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 23, 1989|archive-date=September 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923094813/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-11-23/business/fi-360_1_fried-chicken|url-status=live}} Meanwhile, KFC entered into ventures with other companies. Brown believed that the Colonel Sanders brand could be used to market anything, and launched the "Kentucky Roast Beef" restaurant chain, and "Colonel Sanders Inns" motels.{{cite book|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=Colonel Sanders and the American Dream|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qh5AEnwoJuIC&pg=PA90|access-date=March 18, 2013|date=April 15, 2012|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74285-7|page=90|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065758/https://books.google.com/books?id=qh5AEnwoJuIC&pg=PA90#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=Colonel Sanders and the American Dream|year=2012|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-74285-7|page=90}} The two ventures quickly failed. That same year, KFC entered into a joint venture with the California-based fish and chips chain H. Salt Esq. Fish & Chips, which proved more successful, although the stake was ultimately divested in 1987.{{cite news|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/76291065.html?dids=76291065:76291065&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+15%2C+1969&author=&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&desc=Kentucky+Fried+Chicken+Agrees+to+Joint+Venture+For+Fish-Chips+Outlets&pqatl=google|title=Kentucky Fried Chicken Agrees to Joint Venture For Fish-Chips Outlets|date=October 15, 1969|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=May 7, 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106164500/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/djreprints/access/76291065.html?dids=76291065:76291065&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+15,+1969&author=&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&desc=Kentucky+Fried+Chicken+Agrees+to+Joint+Venture+For+Fish-Chips+Outlets&pqatl=google}}{{subscription required}}{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Jim |title=Kentucky Fried Chicken is cutting loose its fish |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-kfc-divests-from-h/146766321/ |access-date=May 7, 2024 |work=The Courier-Journal |via=newspapers.com |date=February 16, 1987 |pages=B12 |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507080142/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-kfc-divests-from-h/146766321/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Proctor |first1=Tammy |title=Eating the Past: how Haddon Salt perfected fish and chips |url=https://www.upr.org/show/eating-the-past/2022-09-07/eating-the-past-how-haddon-salt-perfected-fish-and-chips |website=Utah Public Radio |access-date=May 7, 2024 |date=September 7, 2022 |archive-date=October 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005082535/https://www.upr.org/show/eating-the-past/2022-09-07/eating-the-past-how-haddon-salt-perfected-fish-and-chips |url-status=live }}

Massey resigned as chairman of the company in March 1970, and Brown took over his role.{{cite news|title=Board Chairman Leaves Kentucky Fried Chicken|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 24, 1970}} The chain had reached 3,000 outlets in 48 countries by 1970, but expansion was often chaotic and poorly executed. When he was promoted to regional manager, Dave Thomas complained that the company had become too "corporate", sent him "a lot of Mickey Mouse memos" and that Brown lacked motivational skill.{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=R. David|title=Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|access-date=April 4, 2013|date=October 1, 1992|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|isbn=978-0-425-13501-3|page=103|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065757/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|url-status=live}} A member of KFC senior management described the international strategy as "throwing some mud against the map on the wall, and hoping some of it would stick."{{cite book|last=Alkhafaji|first=Abbass F.|title=Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJ014H-YbdgC&pg=PA152|access-date=February 27, 2013|date=March 1, 2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7890-1810-6|page=152|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065859/https://books.google.com/books?id=qJ014H-YbdgC&pg=PA152#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} The first outlet in Japan was opened after just two weeks preparation, and it proved to be a costly failure, losing $400,000 during its opening month and wasting more chicken than it sold. Operational problems became clear in July 1971, after the company reported its first ever profit loss from the prior six-month period.{{cite news|title=Kentucky Chicken reports a deficit|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 2, 1971}}

File:KFC signs - Old and New.jpg

Once too large for Sanders to manage, Kentucky Fried Chicken grew to overwhelm John Y. Brown as well. In July 1971, Brown sold the company to the Connecticut-based Heublein, a packaged food and drinks corporation, for US$285 million (around US$2.14 billion in 2023).{{cite news|last=Barmash|first=Isadore|title=Chief Expected to Leave Kentucky Fried Chicken|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 23, 1971}} Brown personally gained around $35 million from the sale.{{cite journal|last=Brenner|first=Marie|title=John Y. and Phyllis- Kentucky-Fried Style|website=Newyorkmetro.com|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOQCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44|access-date=March 28, 2013|volume=New York Magazine|date=November 16, 1981|publisher=New York Media, LLC|page=45|issn=0028-7369|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065758/https://books.google.com/books?id=LOQCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} Reuters opined that the takeover probably saved the company from disaster. Heublein planned to increase KFC's volume with its sales and marketing expertise.{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Harland|title=The Incredible Colonel|year=1974|publisher=Creation House|location=Illinois|page=131|isbn=978-0-88419-053-0}}

Meanwhile, Church's Chicken had encroached on KFC's market share with its offer of indoor seating and its "Crispy Chicken" product.{{cite news|title=Heublein sees growth in food|work=The New York Times|date=November 12, 1980}} KFC introduced its own "Extra Crispy Chicken" in 1972.{{cite news|last=Hiss|first=Anthony|title=Curmudgeon Ribs Chickens|url=https://www.newyorker.com/archive/1975/05/19/1975_05_19_030_TNY_CARDS_000311824|access-date=October 16, 2013|newspaper=New Yorker|date=May 19, 1975|archive-date=October 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016023117/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1975/05/19/1975_05_19_030_TNY_CARDS_000311824|url-status=live}} The introduction of barbecue spare ribs in 1973 caused "tremendous" operating problems. After the product was launched there was a shortage of pork, which pushed prices beyond what customers were willing to pay.{{cite book|title=Business Week Issues 2490–2498|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCo7AAAAMAAJ|access-date=March 10, 2013|year=1977|publisher=McGraw-Hill|page=65|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070415/https://books.google.com/books?id=tCo7AAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} When management withdrew the product, they realized that fried chicken sales had been decreasing. Meanwhile, Sanders increasingly regretted selling the company, and his relationship with the new owners had soured.{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=R. David|title=Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|access-date=April 4, 2013|date=October 1, 1992|publisher=Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated|isbn=978-0-425-13501-3|page=64|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127065757/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1j8bD6SQrAC|url-status=live}} He began to complain of the company's declining food quality to the media:

::::My God, that gravy is horrible! They buy tap water for 15–20 cents a thousand gallons and then they mix it with flour and starch and end up with pure wallpaper paste ... And another thing. That new crispy recipe is nothing in the world but a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken.{{cite book|last=Sanford|first=Bruce W.|title=Libel and Privacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZskrsscU7HkC&pg=SA4-PA17|access-date=23 October 2013|year=2004|publisher=Aspen Publishers Online|isbn=978-0-7355-5297-5|pages=4–17|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070307/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZskrsscU7HkC&pg=SA4-PA17#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}

The outburst prompted a KFC franchisee in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to unsuccessfully attempt to sue Sanders for libel.{{cite book |last=Kleber |first=John E. |author2=Thomas D. Clark |author3=Lowell H. Harrison |author4=James C. Klotter |title=The Kentucky Encyclopedia |date=June 1992 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-8131-1772-0 |page=796|author-link2=Thomas D. Clark |author-link3=Lowell H. Harrison |author-link4=James C. Klotter }} In 1973, Heublein attempted to sue Sanders after he opened a restaurant in Shelbyville, Kentucky, under the name of "Claudia Sanders, the Colonel's Lady Dinner House".{{cite news|author=United Press International|title=Col. Sanders' Chicken War Ends|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 12, 1975|page=46|author-link=United Press International}} In retaliation, Sanders attempted to sue Heublein for US$122 million (around US$570 million in 2013) over the alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop, and for hindering his ability to franchise restaurants.{{cite news|title=Colonel Sanders Is Suing Heublein For $122 million|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 16, 1974}} A Heublein spokesman described it as a "nuisance suit". Heublein ultimately settled out of court with Sanders for US$1 million (around US$4 million in 2013) in 1975, and allowed his restaurant venture to go ahead under the reworked name: "Claudia Sanders Dinner House".

Heublein had no previous experience in the operation of fast food outlets. Overconfidence led KFC to fail in such overseas markets as Hong Kong, which the company abandoned in 1975 after two years in operation.{{cite news|last=Cho|first=Karen|title=KFC China's recipe for success|url=http://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-management/strategy/kfc-chinas-recipe-for-success-1706|access-date=February 27, 2013|newspaper=Insead Knowledge|date=March 20, 2009|archive-date=March 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329132628/http://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-management/strategy/kfc-chinas-recipe-for-success-1706|url-status=dead}} Sanders continued to attack Heublein publicly, and in 1976 complained that the company "doesn't know what it's doing" and that it was "downright embarrassing" to have his image associated with their poor quality product.{{cite news|last=Sheraton|first=Mimi|title=For the Colonel, It Was Finger-Lickin' Bad|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 9, 1976}} The 800 company-owned stores had become unprofitable by 1978.

Heublein appointed Michael A. Miles to manage the business from 1977.{{cite news|last=Sammons|first=Donna|title=Kentucky Fried Chicken Can Cackle Again|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 2, 1980}} He was credited with saving the ailing company by instituting a back-to-basics formula. Miles refurbished the stores, and introduced indoor seating and drive-thru windows. Electronic tills produced daily customer counts, inventories and profit and loss statements so that problems could be identified quickly. KFC expanded internationally in the 1970s and 80s, particularly in Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom.{{cite book|last=Krug|first=Jeffrey A.|title=Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Global Fast-Food Industry|url=http://uwf.edu/hbettisoutland/Case%20Studies/Kentucky%20Fried%20Chicken.pdf|access-date=January 20, 2014|archive-date=July 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710062130/http://uwf.edu/hbettisoutland/Case%20Studies/Kentucky%20Fried%20Chicken.pdf|url-status=dead}} Miles also lured Sanders back, and listened to his recommendations for the business. Subsequent changes resulted in 30 months of consecutive per store sales increases by late 1980.

Sanders died in 1980 from pneumonia at the age of 90, having continued to travel 200,000–250,000 miles a year up to this time, largely by car, promoting his product.{{cite news|last=Ozersky|first=Josh|title=KFC's Colonel Sanders: He Was Real, Not Just an Icon|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2019218,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913184609/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2019218,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 13, 2012|access-date=September 18, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=September 15, 2010}} By branding himself as "Colonel Sanders", Harland became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising.

File:KFC restaurant Kuwait City, 1980.jpg, 1980]]

There were 5,800 KFC outlets worldwide by 1983, located across 55 countries.{{cite news|title=KFC Expansion|work=The New York Times|agency=Reuters|date=May 5, 1983}} That year, General Cinema Corporation acquired 18 percent of Heublein, who, fearing a hostile takeover, approached R. J. Reynolds, the tobacco firm, to act as a white knight and acquire the company for $1.3 billion.{{cite news|last=Cannon|first=Carl|title=All the Pieces in Place, Reynolds Will Focus on Internal Growth|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 6, 1983}} That year, Michael Miles resigned as chairman of KFC to take the role of CEO at Kraft Foods, and Richard Mayer took over his role.{{cite news|last=Goldsborough|first=Bob|title=Michael A. Miles, 1939–2013|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/11/26/michael-a-miles-1939-2013/|access-date=April 4, 2014|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=November 26, 2013|archive-date=December 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227024326/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-11-26/news/ct-obit-michael-miles-1126-20131126_1_john-richman-philip-morris-cos-marketing|url-status=live}} Reynolds had to contend with the introduction of Chicken McNuggets across the McDonald's chain in 1983; KFC introduced its own brand of chicken nuggets, called "Kentucky Nuggets" in 1985.{{cite news|last=Delaney|first=Tom|title=KFC Cooks Up New $80-Mil. Media Plan|newspaper=ADWEEK|date=June 3, 1985}} In 1984, Reynolds dedicated $168 million for capital expansion at KFC.{{cite book|title=Weekly Investment Manager Update|year=1984|publisher=Brown Brothers Harriman & Co|location=New York}}

In July 1986, Reynolds sold KFC to PepsiCo for a book value of $850 million (around US$1.8 billion in 2013).{{cite news|last=Stevenson|first=Richard W.|title=Pepsico to Acquire Kentucky Fried: Deal Worth $850 Million|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 25, 1986}} At the time, PepsiCo had interests in soft drinks and snacks, and also owned the restaurant chains Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Reynolds divested KFC in order to pay off debt related to its recent purchase of Nabisco and to concentrate on its tobacco and packaged food business.{{cite news |title=Pepsico to Buy Kentucky Fried From RJR Nabisco |last=Brooks |first=Nancy Rivera |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-25-fi-0-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 25, 1986 |access-date=June 30, 2012 |archive-date=October 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015120730/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-25/business/fi-0_1_rjr-nabisco |url-status=live }} It was anticipated that PepsiCo would bring their merchandising expertise to the company. Dan Koeppel of Adweek believed that the chain had been suffering from corporate neglect, menu stagnation and mixed marketing messages; Nancy Giges of Advertising Age felt that the chain had been "smartly revived" by R. J. Reynolds.{{cite news|last=Koeppel|first=Dan|title=The Feathers Are Really Flying At Kentucky Fried|newspaper=Adweek|date=September 3, 1990}}{{cite news|last=Giges|first=Nancy|title=Kentucky Fried Chicken coup for PepsiCo|newspaper=Advertising Age|date=July 28, 1986}} KFC chairman Richard Mayer was of the opinion that Reynolds had treated their restaurants division as a "hobby".{{cite news|last=Kirkpatrick|first=David|title=Move over, Ronald McDonald|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1987/06/22/69196/index.htm|access-date=February 13, 2013|newspaper=Fortune|date=June 22, 1987|archive-date=October 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017015241/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1987/06/22/69196/index.htm|url-status=live}}

PepsiCo's acquisition was seen by some analysts as a means for the company to increase its soft drinks sales. PepsiCo chairman D. Wayne Calloway denied that soft drink preference was a factor in the KFC takeover. KFC management had previously given franchisees the freedom to sell any soft drinks they wanted, but PepsiCo stated that it hoped it could convince them to stock Pepsi products. Before the takeover, only 1,000 of the 6,500 KFC outlets sold Pepsi cola, and PepsiCo switched 1,800 company-owned stores to their own soft drinks with immediate effect.{{cite news|last=Stevenson|first=Richard W.|title=PepsiCo to acquire Kentucky Fried|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/25/business/pepsico-to-acquire-kentucky-fried.html|access-date=May 22, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 25, 1986|archive-date=May 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524021625/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/25/business/pepsico-to-acquire-kentucky-fried.html|url-status=live}} The purchase of KFC by PepsiCo led to some fast food competitors switching from Pepsi to Coca-Cola.{{cite news|title=Wendy's Drops Pepsi For Coke|newspaper=Financial Times|date=October 16, 1986}} One of the first to switch was Wendy's, whose chairman, Robert Barney, stated, "[PepsiCo's] interests are now in conflict with Wendy's and we will not support a company that is trying to make our customers its customers." Burger King, which had switched from Coca-Cola to PepsiCo in 1983, returned to Coca-Cola in 1990, citing the growth of the PepsiCo chains as a "large factor" in the switch.{{cite news|last=Ramirez|first=Anthony|title=New Coke Conquest: Burger King|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/02/business/new-coke-conquest-burger-king.html|access-date=September 11, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 2, 1990|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921062906/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/02/business/new-coke-conquest-burger-king.html|url-status=live}} By 1998, the majority of KFC franchisees had agreed to stock PepsiCo soft drink products.{{cite news|last=Howard|first=Theresa|title=New Products : KFC, with Pepsi, Mulls Putting New Colonel' On Proprietary Beverage|newspaper=Brandweek|date=September 28, 1998}}

In November 1987, KFC became the first Western restaurant chain in China, with an outlet in Beijing.{{cite book|last=Jing|first=Jun|title=Feeding China's Little Emperors: Food, Children, and Social Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPI7wHge6CcC&pg=PA117|access-date=September 27, 2013|year=2000|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-3134-8|pages=117–118, 127|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070307/https://books.google.com/books?id=NPI7wHge6CcC&pg=PA117#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} In 1989, first quarter sales at KFC rose 30 percent to US$280 million.{{cite news|last=Zagor|first=Karen|title=PepsiCo Returns Sparkle|newspaper=Financial Times|date=May 3, 1989}} In July, president and CEO Richard Mayer left KFC in order to become the CEO at Kraft Foods, and was replaced by John Cranor III.{{cite news|last=Ramirez|first=Anthony|title=Getting Burned By the Frying Pan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/20/business/getting-burned-by-the-frying-pan.html|access-date=April 4, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 20, 1990|archive-date=October 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027054000/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/20/business/getting-burned-by-the-frying-pan.html|url-status=live}}

File:KFC - Chicken Zinger Burger - Kolkata 2013-02-08 4443.JPG

In August 1989, Cranor proposed amendments to the existing 1976 contract for US franchisees: PepsiCo could take over weak franchises, existing restaurants would not be safeguarded against competition from new outlets, and PepsiCo would have the right to increase royalty fees.{{cite book|author1=Bob De Wit|author2=Ron Meyer|title=Strategy: Process, Content, Context, An International Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCspQP0CYgcC&pg=PA918|access-date=February 5, 2013|date=April 9, 2010|publisher=Cengage Learning EMEA|isbn=978-1-4080-1902-3|page=918|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070417/https://books.google.com/books?id=tCspQP0CYgcC&pg=PA918|url-status=live}} The contract proved controversial amongst franchisees, who countered with a lawsuit, and the issue was not resolved until 1996.{{cite news|title=KFC, franchisees near to settling contract dispute|newspaper=Nation's Restaurant News|date=February 5, 1996}} PepsiCo was accused of behaving in an imperious manner towards franchisees, who it believed were holding back the firm's growth, while the franchisees believed they had been the backbone of the company during a succession of indifferent corporate owners.

Cranor spent $42 million restructuring the company's operations worldwide.{{cite book|last=Montgomery|first=Cynthia A.|title=PepsiCo's Restaurants|year=1994|publisher=Harvard Business School Case 794-078|url=http://hbr.org/product/PepsiCo-s-Restaurants/an/794078-PDF-ENG|access-date=January 20, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202121413/http://hbr.org/product/PepsiCo-s-Restaurants/an/794078-PDF-ENG|url-status=live}} He invested an additional $50 million to refurbish outlets and $20 million on a new computer system to link outlet cash registers to the kitchen, drive-through window, manager's office and company headquarters. Cranor also expanded the chain into non-traditional locations, beginning with a 150 sq ft limited menu kiosk at a General Motors assembly plant in Dayton, Ohio. Between 1986 and 1991, the chain built a further 2,000 outlets to bring its total number to 8,500, and sales grew from $3.5 to $6.2 billion. The chain had to contend with the rise of grilled chicken as Americans became increasingly health-conscious. KFC found itself competing against the growing El Pollo Loco restaurant chain, as well as with Burger King, which had just introduced the BK Broiler, a grilled chicken burger. Delays in product development, cramped kitchens, and the ongoing franchisee contract dispute prevented the chain from rolling out a grilled product of its own.

In March 1991 the KFC name was officially adopted, although the chain was already widely known by that initialism.{{cite news|title=Kentucky Fried Chicken redesigns for new image|newspaper=Marketing News|date=March 18, 1991}} The change was advised by the Schechter Group brand consultancy agency.{{cite journal|last=Foulds|first=Peter|title=Revamping the image|journal=Across the Board|date=November–December 1993|volume=30|issue=9|pages=48–49}} Research demonstrated that 80 percent of customers already associated the "KFC" initials with Kentucky Fried Chicken. A spokesman for the chain said that it represented its diversified menu, which was moving away from solely fried products.{{cite news|last=Kauffman|first=Matthew|title=When Brand Image Falls From Favor|url=https://www.courant.com/1999/03/05/when-brand-image-falls-from-favor/|access-date=April 3, 2014|newspaper=The Courant|date=March 5, 1999|archive-date=April 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093937/http://articles.courant.com/1999-03-05/business/9903050144_1_kentucky-fried-chicken-brand-y2k-problem|url-status=live}} Kyle Craig, president of KFC US, admitted the change was an attempt to distance the chain from the unhealthy connotations of "fried".{{cite news|title=And Now, Finger Lickin' Good For Ya?|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1991-02-17/and-now-finger-lickin-good-for-ya|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321040500/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1991-02-17/and-now-finger-lickin-good-for-ya|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 21, 2013|access-date=February 5, 2013|newspaper=Businessweek|date=February 17, 1991}} In 1994, Milford Prewitt praised the "crafty and well-timed repositioning" in Nation's Restaurant News.{{cite news|last=Prewitt|first=Milford|title=Cranor resigns as KFC prexy, CEO|newspaper=Nation's Restaurant News|date=August 1, 1994}} On the other hand, a 2005 editorial in Advertising Age stated, "the chain's jettisoning of a venerable name—and distancing from the word fried—was ill-conceived and damaging. It made a clear brand fuzzy."{{cite news|title=Editorial: No Shame in KFC's Real Name|newspaper=Advertising Age|date=May 2, 2005}}

The early 1990s saw successful major products launched throughout the chain, including spicy "Hot Wings" (launched in 1990), popcorn chicken (1992), and, outside the US, the "Zinger", a spicy chicken fillet burger (1993).{{cite news |title=A feast of bargains |newspaper=Sunday Herald Sun |date=May 31, 1992}} In 1993, rotisserie style chicken, under the name "Colonel's Rotisserie Gold", was introduced at over 30 percent of US outlets.{{cite news|title=KFC Makes Another Go at Roasted Chicken|url=http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/kfc-makes-another-go-roasted-chicken|access-date=December 5, 2012|newspaper=QSR Magazine|date=April 28, 2004|archive-date=January 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116092346/http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/kfc-makes-another-go-roasted-chicken|url-status=live}} However, despite a $100 million investment in marketing, the product failed to gain sales traction.{{cite news|last=Kramer|first=Louise|title=Rotisserie Gold plucked by KFC|newspaper=Nation's Restaurant News|date=March 4, 1996}} The launch of skinless chicken, designed to appeal to health-conscious customers, failed; customers disliked the unfamiliar texture, and the product resulted in increased overheads, which contributed to a 37 percent decline in operating profits in 1991.{{cite news|last=Grimm|first=Matthew|title=KFC Tests Its First Non-Fried Chicken|newspaper=Brandweek|date=May 11, 1992}}{{cite news|last=Horovitz|first=Bruce|title=What's next: Fast-food giants hunt for new products to tempt consumers|newspaper=USA Today|date=July 3, 2002}}

In June 1991, Singapore was chosen for the launch of the first-ever KFC breakfast menu.{{cite news|title=Colonel serves test breakfast in Singapore|newspaper=Marketing News|date=June 10, 1991}} Products included chicken, omelettes and scrambled eggs, sold under the "Colonel's Country Breakfast" banner. Singapore was chosen for the launch due to the growth of the breakfast market in that country.

While the US division struggled, becoming the weakest part of PepsiCo's restaurants division, elsewhere sales boomed, with particular success in Japan. By 1992, almost half of company turnover came from outside the US.{{cite news|last=Farrell|first=Greg|title=The World on a STRING|newspaper=Brandweek|date=October 11, 1993}} By 1993, KFC in the Asia Pacific region accounted for 22 percent of all KFC sales. John Cranor announced, "We're looking at almost unlimited opportunity for growth in Asia".{{cite news|last=Tanzer|first=Andrew|title=Hot Wings take off|newspaper=Forbes|date=January 18, 1993}} By 1993, KFC was the leading Western fast food chain in South Korea, China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and was second to McDonald's in most other Asian markets, including Japan and Singapore. Overseas operations often flourished while local management ignored or even defied orders from Louisville headquarters.{{cite book|last=White|first=Michael|title=Short Course in International Marketing Blunders: Marketing Mistakes Made by Companies that Should Have Known Better|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zz1L3nnNmMcC&pg=PA69|access-date=February 27, 2013|year=2009|publisher=World Trade Press|isbn=978-1-60780-008-8|page=69|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070410/https://books.google.com/books?id=zz1L3nnNmMcC&pg=PA69#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}

By 1994, KFC had a total of 9,407 outlets worldwide, including 5,149 outlets in the US, and over 100,000 employees.{{cite book|author1=John A. Jakle|author2=Keith A. Sculle|title=Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0nYcgnWKWXgC|access-date=March 11, 2013|year=1999|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-6920-4|page=221|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151226/https://books.google.com/books?id=0nYcgnWKWXgC|url-status=live}} That year, the chain began to struggle after competitors such as McDonald's introduced value menu offerings.{{cite journal|author1=David E. Bell|author2=Mary L. Shelman|title=KFC's Radical Approach To China|journal=Harvard Business Review|date=November 2011|url=http://hbr.org/2011/11/kfcs-radical-approach-to-china/ar/1|access-date=January 31, 2013|archive-date=March 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310085305/http://hbr.org/2011/11/kfcs-radical-approach-to-china/ar/1|url-status=live}} After a disappointing set of quarterly earnings, Cranor left the company in January 1994. In his wake, two executives with marketing backgrounds were charged with reviving the company. Roger Enrico was appointed as the chairman of PepsiCo Worldwide Restaurants, and David C. Novak was appointed President/CEO of KFC North America.{{cite news |last1=Egerton |first1=Judith |title=PepsiCo revamp to mean changes for some at KFC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/146766993/ |access-date=May 7, 2024 |work=The Courier-Journal |via=newspapers.com |date=November 11, 1994 |pages=C1 |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507093133/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal/146766993/ |url-status=live }}

In 1995, Novak introduced two successful new products— Crispy Strips (breaded strips of chicken) and the chicken pot pie— the chain's first major new product launches in almost two years. Novak credits an improved, more "open" relationship with franchisees for the introduction of the two new items: Crispy Strips were invented by an Arkansas franchisee, and the pot pie was similarly developed alongside franchisees.{{cite book|last=Novak|first=David|title=Taking People with You: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vEiAHlWfToC|access-date=March 11, 2013|date=January 26, 2012|publisher=Penguin Books, Limited|isbn=978-0-241-95413-3|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070307/https://books.google.com/books?id=4vEiAHlWfToC|url-status=live}} Meanwhile, less popular items, such as corn muffins, were removed from the menu.{{cite news|last=Benezra|first=Karen|title=New Ideas On The Grill|newspaper=Brandweek|date=October 30, 1995}} At the same time, Enrico scaled back the increasing competition between KFC and its sister companies, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut; Taco Bell had begun offering its own chicken products, and KFC had attacked Pizza Hut in its marketing.

In 1996 the company repaired its relationship with its franchisees by immediately dropping the most contentious of the contract terms that had been proposed by chairman John Cranor five years previously.{{cite news|last=Carlino|first=Bill|title=KFC, franchisees settle lawsuit, agree to end bitter 7-year feud|newspaper=Nation's Restaurant News|date=February 19, 1996}} The 1976 contract was restored, including the 1.5 mile outlet exclusivity zone, while the parent company gained greater control over national advertising. Novak also axed the Colonel's Rotisserie Gold chicken and introduced a new non-fried chicken called the Tender Roast. Tender Roast was served by piece like the fried chicken, in contrast with the rotisserie product, which had been sold in quarter, half or whole chicken portions. Afterwards, Novak oversaw ten fiscal quarters of consecutive growth at KFC North America.{{cite news|title=Tricon: With All This Fizz, Who Needs Pepsi?|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1998-10-18/tricon-with-all-this-fizz-who-needs-pepsi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928233521/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1998-10-18/tricon-with-all-this-fizz-who-needs-pepsi|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 28, 2013|access-date=January 20, 2013|newspaper=Business Week|date=October 18, 1998}} As a result of his success at KFC North America, Novak became president and CEO of the entire KFC organization in 1996.{{cite web|title=Executive Profile: David Novak|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=366001&ticker=YUM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902122912/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=366001&ticker=YUM|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 2, 2012|publisher=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=November 14, 2013}}

File:Boycott KFC.jpg in 2007]]

In August 1997, PepsiCo spun off its poorly performing restaurants division as a public company valued at US$4.5 billion (around US$6.5 billion in 2013).{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/10/07/pepsico-to-tricon/ | work=Chicago Tribune | title=Pepsico To Tricon | date=October 7, 1997 | access-date=September 9, 2013 | archive-date=October 2, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002142013/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-07/business/9710070298_1_drinks-and-frito-lay-snacks-pepsico-food-systems-restaurant-supply-restaurant-supply-unit | url-status=live }} Although KFC had been doing well, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell had been under-performing. One PepsiCo executive admitted, "restaurants weren't our schtick".{{cite news|last=Tomkins|first=Richard|title=PepsiCo hit by slump in international unit|newspaper=Financial Times|date=February 5, 1997}}{{cite news |title=Yum! Brands: Fast food's yummy secret |url=http://www.economist.com/node/4316138 |newspaper=The Economist |date=August 25, 2005 |access-date=June 30, 2012 |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309040247/http://www.economist.com/node/4316138 |url-status=live }} The new company, named Tricon Global Restaurants, had 30,000 outlets and annual sales of US$10 billion (around US$14 billion in 2013) at the time, making it second only to McDonald's in global sales.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/28/business/pepsico-picks-name-for-planned-spinoff.html | work=The New York Times | title=Pepsico Picks Name For Planned Spinoff | date=June 28, 1997 | access-date=February 8, 2017 | archive-date=May 5, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505130643/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/28/business/pepsico-picks-name-for-planned-spinoff.html | url-status=live }}

Since the turn of the 3rd millennium, fast food has been criticised for its animal welfare record, its links to obesity and its environmental impact.{{cite news|last=Barnett|first=Michael|title=Colonel Sanders' new modern army of outlets|url=http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/colonel-sanders-new-modern-army-of-outlets/3021690.article|access-date=February 11, 2013|newspaper=Marketing Week|date=December 16, 2010|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185241/http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/colonel-sanders-new-modern-army-of-outlets/3021690.article|url-status=live}} Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation (2002) and Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me (2004) reflected these concerns. Since 2003, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has protested KFC's choice of poultry suppliers worldwide with the Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign.{{cite book |author1=Yaziji, Michael |author2=Doh, Jonathan |title=NGOs and Corporations: Conflict and Collaboration |series=Business, Value Creation, and Society |chapter=Case illustration: PETA and KFC |pages=112–114 |year=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86684-2}} PETA have held thousands of demonstrations, sometimes in the home towns of KFC executives, and CEO David Novak was soaked in fake blood by a protester.{{cite book|author1=Chuck Williams|author2=Terry Champion|author3=Ike Hall|title=MGMT|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8GkHKO0T4P8C&pg=PA78|year=2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-650235-5|page=78|access-date=February 21, 2016|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151241/https://books.google.com/books?id=8GkHKO0T4P8C&pg=PA78|url-status=live}} KFC President Gregg Dedrick said PETA mischaracterized KFC as a poultry producer rather than a purchaser of chickens.{{cite book|last=Swann|first=Patricia|title=Cases in Public Relations Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQCogK0r4g4C&pg=PA121|access-date=September 26, 2013|date=April 2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-85136-4|pages=121–122|archive-date=March 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313151206/https://books.google.com/books?id=uQCogK0r4g4C&pg=PA121|url-status=live}} In 2008, Yum! stated: "[As] a major purchaser of food products, [Yum!] has the opportunity and responsibility to influence the way animals supplied to us are treated. We take that responsibility very seriously, and we are monitoring our suppliers on an ongoing basis."{{cite book|title=Annual Report|year=2008|publisher=Yum! Brands|location=Louisville|page=52|url=http://yum.com/investors/annualreport/08annualreport/docs/annualReport08.pdf|access-date=September 27, 2013|archive-date=September 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905061941/http://www.yum.com/investors/annualreport/08annualreport/docs/annualReport08.pdf|url-status=live}}

File:KFC Double Down "Sandwich".jpg

Tricon was renamed Yum! Brands in May 2002.{{cite news|title=Tricon Global Restaurants Shareholders Approve Company Name Change to Yum! Brands, Inc.|url=http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/tricon-global-restaurants-shareholders-approve-company-name-change-yum-brands-inc|access-date=November 20, 2013|newspaper=QSR Magazine|date=May 16, 2002|archive-date=May 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521220225/http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/tricon-global-restaurants-shareholders-approve-company-name-change-yum-brands-inc|url-status=live}} In that year, the chain had to contend with Burger King's launch of the Chicken Whopper, as well as fried chicken offerings from the Domino's and Papa John's pizza chains.{{cite news|last=Buckley|first=Neil|title=Yum Brands shares battered by sales at KFC|newspaper=Financial Times|date=October 11, 2002}} Within three months, the Chicken Whopper became Burger King's most successful launch of all time, with sales of 50 million. In September 2002, KFC sales were down 10 percent against the previous year. From 2002 to 2005, KFC experienced three years of weak sales, when underinvestment in product development left the brand looking "tired and poorly positioned", according to Restaurant Research, an independent consultancy. A roast chicken product line introduced in 2004 proved unsuccessful, and the worldwide avian flu scare of 2005 temporarily decreased sales by as much as 40 percent.{{cite news|last=Buckley|first=Neil|title=McDonald's gets lift from healthier eating food|newspaper=Financial Times|date=July 15, 2004}}{{cite news|last=Choi|first=Candice|title=Yum blindsided by KFC chicken scare in China|url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-02-05/yum-expects-big-1q-profit-hit-from-chicken-scare|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407213159/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-02-05/yum-expects-big-1q-profit-hit-from-chicken-scare|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 7, 2013|access-date=February 5, 2013|newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=February 5, 2013}} KFC responded in March 2005 by adding a cheap, small chicken burger to the menu called the "Snacker". It proved to be one of the chain's most successful product launches to date, with over 100 million in sales.{{cite news|last=Levere|first=Jane|title=MEDIA: KFC Spends Big to Market Chicken Dipped in Sauce|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 6, 2005}} In international markets, KFC introduced the "Boxmaster", a meal-sized wrap in a box. KFC also began a makeover of the US brand image, bringing back the full "Kentucky Fried Chicken" name at some outlets and returning portraits of Colonel Sanders to prominence.

In 2009, KFC International launched the Krusher (Krushem in some markets) line of frozen beverages. The product was an attempt to introduce a between-meals snack to KFC, and was marketed towards teenagers.{{cite web|last=Sy|first=Jeremy|title=KFC Krushers taps teen spirit to deliver 1100% return on marketing investment|work=WARC|publisher=Warc Prize for Asian Strategy: Entrant, 2011|url=http://www.warc.com/Content/Documents/A94018_KFC_Krushers_taps_teen_spirit_to_deliver_110025_return_on_marketing_investment.content?CID=A94018&ID=7eeffe5a-1ac7-493b-bc91-20ba711b5bd6&q=AID%3a94018&qr=|access-date=September 9, 2013|archive-date=January 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127070344/https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/A94018_KFC_Krushers_taps_teen_spirit_to_deliver_110025_return_on_marketing_investment/en-GB/94018?|url-status=live}} In April 2010, the Double Down sandwich was launched.{{cite news|last=Leung|first=Wency|title=Forget healthy – KFC's Double Down revels in glorious gluttony|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/forget-healthy---kfcs-double-down-revels-in-glorious-gluttony/article4328925/|access-date=April 26, 2014|newspaper=Globe and Mail|date=April 13, 2010|archive-date=May 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511024503/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/forget-healthy---kfcs-double-down-revels-in-glorious-gluttony/article4328925/|url-status=live}} Criticised as an unhealthy product, it featured two pieces of fried chicken in lieu of a conventional bread bun. It has proved to be a success for the company, with 15 million Double Downs sold worldwide between March 2011 and March 2013.{{cite news|title=KFC Doubles Down in South Africa|url=http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/kfc-doubles-down-south-africa|access-date=June 29, 2013|newspaper=QSR Magazine|date=March 26, 2013|archive-date=June 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602003622/http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/kfc-doubles-down-south-africa|url-status=live}} In September 2012, the Chicken Little sandwich returned in the US.{{cite news|title=KFC Offers New Chicken Little Sandwiches|url=http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/kfc-offers-new-chicken-little-sandwiches|access-date=March 13, 2013|newspaper=QSR Magazine|date=September 5, 2012|archive-date=May 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508180630/http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/kfc-offers-new-chicken-little-sandwiches|url-status=live}}

By December 2013, there were 18,875 KFC outlets in 118 countries and territories around the world.{{cite web|title=Restaurant counts|url=http://www.yum.com/investors/restcounts.asp|publisher=Yum!|access-date=April 3, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202153644/http://www.yum.com/investors/restcounts.asp|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|title=Yum! Annual Report 2013|publisher=Yum!|location=Louisville|url=http://www.yum.com/annualreport/pdf/2013yumAnnReport.pdf|access-date=April 5, 2014|archive-date=April 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407090547/http://www.yum.com/annualreport/pdf/2013yumAnnReport.pdf|url-status=dead}} KFC is the second largest restaurant chain in the world by sales after McDonald's.{{cite web|title=Best Global Brands 2013|url=http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2013/KFC|publisher=Interbrand|access-date=November 14, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114020002/http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2013/KFC|archive-date=November 14, 2013}}

In April 2014, Yum! announced that first quarter KFC sales had risen by 11 percent in China, following a 15 percent fall in 2013.{{cite news|title=KFC owner Yum Brands' profit boosted by China recovery|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27107881|access-date=April 23, 2014|newspaper=BBC News|date=April 23, 2014|archive-date=April 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423012045/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27107881|url-status=live}}

In July 2014, Chinese authorities closed down the Shanghai operations of the OSI Group, amidst allegations that it had supplied KFC with expired meat.{{cite news|last1=Hornby|first1=Lucy|title=McDonald's and KFC hit by China food safety scandal|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c84e2dfa-10ac-11e4-b116-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3B8IBoFUv|access-date=August 22, 2014|work=Financial Times|date=July 21, 2014|archive-date=August 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824053619/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c84e2dfa-10ac-11e4-b116-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3B8IBoFUv|url-status=live}} Yum! immediately terminated its contract with the supplier, and stated that the revelation had led to a significant decline in sales.{{cite news|last1=Ramakrishnan|first1=Sruthi|title=Yum says China food safety scare hurting KFC, Pizza Hut sales|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-food-idUSKBN0FZ2H320140730|access-date=August 22, 2014|work=Reuters|date=July 30, 2014|archive-date=January 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126202314/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-food-idUSKBN0FZ2H320140730|url-status=live}}

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