Why Can’t They Just Call It “Fried?”
Kentucky Fried Chicken wants to make you forget the word “Fried.”
In the last couple of months Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has gone out of their way to make you forget about the fact that its chicken is fried. Frying seems to have a bad or unhealthful connotation nowadays and it goes against the mantra by the fast food companies that you can actually work fast food into a healthful lifestyle.
Let’s face it though gang, the only two ways they are going to remove the perception of unhealth they have fostered is to a) Change the main product from fried to roasted or b) Change the name of the chain.
They can’t do the former. They offered Rotisserie Gold chicken and other “healthy” fare and it bombed, miserably, even thought the actual product was quite tasty (much like Taco Bell’s low cal menu–delicious!) So, after the healthy fast food disaster, the group that owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut went overboard the other direction. Heck, you could even get tacos with bacon for heaven’s sake!
Fortunately, that has changed and they have moved back to a middle ground again. They are even using the word “fried” in some new stores in the South, but I don’t see that happening here in Los Angeles. Here they are still using “KFC”, “Kitchen Fresh Chicken” or “Kitchen for Chicken.”
They definitely can’t change the name of the chain. You might as well change the name of Coca-cola.
Listen, just embrace the word “fried.” Colonel Sanders was a good guy, and he lived well into his 80’s. He may not have eaten the product from the stores after he sold the rights to Seagrams some years ago, but you can bet he still ate his chicken right up to the day he died. Maybe they can sell it on those facts.
Filed under: Food
