KFC China to public: Come tour our farms, kitchens

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  Julie Graber

  KFC is inviting its consumers in China to tour the farms where its chickens are raised in an effort to ease food safety worries.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Seeking to ease the minds of Chinese consumers worried about food safety, KFC is inviting the public to tour the farms where its chickens are raised and the kitchens where the food is prepared.
  KFC and parent company Yum! Brands has been experiencing slow sales from food safety worries that include avian influenza outbreaks and a recent scandal where Yum! Brands supplier Husi Food Co. had allegedly repackaged expired meats with false expiration dates printed. Yum! Brands was not aware that the labels had been altered.
  In an effort to be transparent, placemats at KFC contain the messages inviting its consumers to see how the food is raised and prepared. The placemats read: "How is KFC's food prepared? Is the chicken safe? Are the restaurants hygienic? You can see our chicken farms yourself, and unravel the mysteries of KFC restaurants on the spot. You decide whether or not our food is safe!"
  Customers can register online to book a visit. An earlier tour led by the manager of a Shanghai restaurant this month showcased employee hand-washing, the oil used in the fryers, the way the chickens are raised, and the purified water used in the food.
  The transparency was limited, however, as tour participants were not allowed to use their mobile phones, take pictures or video or record any audio.

First KFC to open in Myanmar in 2015

Yum! Brands is partnering with Singapore-based Yoma Strategic Holdings to debut a KFC restaurant in Myanmar in 2015. Not only will this be the first KFC restaurant to open in Myanmar, but also the first U.S.-based fast-food chain to enter the Myanmar market.
According to a Reuters report, global companies have been lining up to take advantage of a growing market in Myanmar, which has been opening up since 2011 after a military dictatorship ended.
"With 50 million people and a growing middle class with disposable income, the country offers significant consumer opportunity for Yoma Strategic to grow KFC over the long term," Yoma said in a statement.
Yoma, a Myanmar-focused diversified real estate company, said the KFC franchise would initially focus on Yangon, the country's largest city.
"The development plans call for initial market entry in Yangon and expansion to second/third-tier cities within the country is always a possibility," JR Ching, head of business development at Yoma Strategic, told Reuters in an email.
Business plans for the future KFC location in Myanmar are still being finalized, so further details were not released.
Yum! Brands, in addition to being the parent company of KFC, owns popular restaurant chains Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

KFC launches campaign to improve brand in China

KFC has launched a campaign to rebuild its brand in China, promising tighter quality control after an incident over misuse of drugs by its suppliers.
The company, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc., promised to test meat for banned drugs, strengthen oversight of farmers and encourage them to improve their technology. More than 1,000 small producers used by its 25 poultry suppliers have been eliminated from the Yum! Network, the company said.
KFC, which has more than 4,000 outlets in China, was hit hard when state television reported in December 2012 that some suppliers violated rules on the use of drugs. The company estimates January sales plunged 37 percent. "Starting now, we will stress strict management and the principle of zero tolerance in food safety," said Sam Sun, the chairman of Yum! Restaurants China. "We will immediately drop any supplier that lacks the determination or the ability to manage breeding well."
Yum, based in Louisville, Ky., said it expects sales in China to fall by up to 25 percent in the current quarter. The company also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The company plans to maintain its pace of new restaurant openings in China. Another 700 new sites are planned for 2013, with Yum! focusing more on cities outside Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen where it sees greater potential for growth.

KFC introduces bunless chicken sandwich

KFC has announced the April 12 launch of the Double Down, the restaurant chain’s first bunless chicken sandwich. The Double Down features two pieces of bacon, monterey jack and pepper jack cheese and sauce sandwiched between two boneless white meat chicken filets (breaded or grilled).
According to a company press release, the Double Down “generated more buzz than any test market item in KFC history” when it was sold for a short period last year in two markets. “The Double Down created such buzz as a test market item and it already has such high consumer awareness, we toyed with the idea of making a commercial that just said, 'It’s here!,'” said Javier Benito, executive vice president of marketing and food innovation for KFC.
To mark the launch of the Double Down, KFC will donate sandwich buns and funds to foodbanks in various parts of the United States. “It’s great to find a good home for some of those 'unneeded' KFC buns at food banks around the country,” Benito said.
The Original Recipe Double Down contains 540 calories, and the grilled version has at 460 calories, KFC reported.