KFC is hot on grilled chicken but customers aren't buying it

[Renew Deal]

I know this picture makes you hungry:



KFC franchisees aren’t exactly crowing over the chicken giant’s decision to emphasize grilled rather than fried poultry.

In fact, some feel that this health-conscious strategy is confusing to the customer and bad for the brand, according to Bloomberg Business Week.

The chain, which is owned by Yum! Brands, may be aiming to please fat-phobes who don’t want to eat bone-in, breaded, oil-dipped chicken by offering a grilled product.

In January, the KFC National Council & Advertising Cooperative, the group that reps U.S. franchisees, decided to sue KFC to get control of the advertising strategy. This came in the wake of poor sales: second-quarter revenue at American KFCs (those open for a year or more) decreased 7%.
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Franchisees have been clucking with disapproval over a couple KFC decisions. Last year, the company introduced grilled chicken and the slogan, "Unthink KFC." In May 2009, the chain initiated a grilled chicken giveaway on “Oprah.”

Franchisees were told they might get a few hundred customers coming in to redeem their online coupons and get free chicken. Some franchises ran out of food when thousands showed up. “The cost to the franchisee was much larger than they said,” franchisee Pat Dempsey told Bloomberg Business Week. "That started a continued downfall in trust."

Since that promotion was canceled, sales of grilled chicken have sunk, according to Larry Starkey, owner of seven KFC franchises. He said grilled chicken accounts for only about 16% of the "on the bone" chicken he sells.

Some franchisees think customers would be happiest if the chain left well enough alone. One of them, Marilynn Pankratz, who said she learned how to fry chicken from Colonel Sanders himself, feels current KFC officers don’t care much about the herb-and-spice Original Recipe.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/08/17/2010-08-17_unhealthy_profits_kfc_pushing_grilled_chicken_but_are_people_buying.html

I'm glad to see the so called health consciousness hasn't taken over KFC. There's nothing quite like a bucket of Original Recipe.