KFC's global modernization effort includes a new logo and packaging, menu upgrades, and restaurant redesigns, all aimed at improving the customer experience.
The Colonel is staying put. Almost everything else at KFC is changing.The 74-year-old fried chicken chain is rolling out one of the biggest global brand overhauls in its history, betting that new sauces, specialty beverages, redesigned restaurants, and a refreshed logo and packaging can help it define what executives call the "next chapter of chicken."The challenge is modernizing one of the world's most recognizable restaurant brands without losing the nostalgia and familiarity that made it iconic in the first place — and avoiding a rebranding catastrophe like Cracker Barrel experienced last year."We have a history of keeping pace with the consumer, and now everything we're doing is in service of making sure we're setting the standard for the modern chicken quick service restaurant," KFC Global CEO Scott Mezvinsky told Business Insider.The effort comes as chicken has become one of the hottest segments in fast food. Raising Cane's, Dave's Hot Chicken, Chick-fil-A, and Popeyes have intensified competition, particularly in the US, where KFC is trying to regain momentum."KFC has become a global brand with an American problem, rather than an American brand with global ambitions," said Usha Haley, the Barton distinguished chair of international business at Wichita State University.As of its parent company, Yum! Brands' latest earnings report, the chain continues to expand aggressively, with more than 34,000 restaurants across 151 countries, and it has posted sales growth almost everywhere over the last three quarters — except the US.
