Colonel Sanders’ Story (KFC)

Colonel Harland D. Sanders was the inventor of the fried chicken recipe with the famous flavor the whole world has learned to love. He was also the founder of the first KFC outlet.
He was born on September 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana, U.S.A. Before setting up in the restaurant business, the Colonel had tried his hand at many other careers. By the age of 40 he had driven trains, piloted steamships, and sold life insurance. It was then that he poured his energy into one of his main loves - food. He opened his first restaurant near at a gas station in the town of Corbin. As travellers passed the word, his reputation grew, and so did his business. He was able to open a hotel on the opposite side of the road and expand his restaurant to 142 seats.
Colonel Sanders loved trying out new recipes and odd combinations of spices. One of them involved ten different herbs with wheat flour. The chicken was rolled in this batter then fried. One day, while he was preparing this particular dish for a group of tourists, he added an 11th spice and immediately noticed the difference, declaring, “With these 11 ingredients, I have discovered the most delicious fried chicken that I have ever tasted.” It is this secret combination that has continued to be used by KFC ever since.
In 1935 Sanders was honoured by the Governor of Kentucky as the “Kentucky Colonel” for his restaurant, the most famous in the entire state. His business continued to prosper until 1950, when a new highway caused a drop in traffic past the Colonel’s site. Sanders decided to call it quits, and closed his restaurant.
But encouraged by the excellence of his secret recipe, Colonel Sanders launched his own franchise in 1952 with only $105. He began to travel and promote his knowledge of the ingredients, procedures, and equipment needed to make his special version of fried chicken, selling the rights to his method and special combination of spices to restaurant owners all over the U.S.A.. He would then visit his franchise outlets, explaining his unique method, tasting the results, and engaging in what he called ‘Coloneling’. This was done to make sure that his customers were genuinely satisfied with the taste of his fried chicken and the quality of service.
The price of sharing his knowledge was 5 cents per piece of chicken. Most agreements were reached with nothing more than a handshake. By 1964, the outlets launched by Colonel Sanders numbered more than 600 stores throughout the U.S.A. and Canada.
When expansion continued past the point that Colonel Sanders could handle matters on his own, he decided to sell his business to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr., former Governor of Kentucky and Jack Massey from Nashville, Tennessee. Colonel Sanders stayed on as the Kentucky Fried Chicken Goodwill Ambassador, offering his help and wisdom wherever necessary. The business grew so rapidly that on January 16, 1969 Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation was registered on the New York Stock Exchange. It had, by that time, more than 3,500 outlets around the world.On July 8, 1971 Heublein Inc. bought KFC Corporation from Brown and partners. Colonel Sanders passed away in 1980, at the age of 90. Despite his decease, his legacy of delicious fried chicken continues to be passed down from one generation to the next. In 1982 R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (now known as RJR Nabisco, Inc.) acquired Heublein Inc. and, with it, KFC.
For Kentucky Fried Chicken, a major turnaround took place with PepsiCo’s interest in the restaurant business. As a result, PepsiCo bought the right to KFC from RJR Nabisco, Inc. in October 1986. Subsequently, in January 1997, PepsiCo implemented a new policy whereby its restaurant chains, namely KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, were brought together under one corporate roof, called TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc.. This new entity now controls over 30,000 outlets in 100 countries world-wide.
In May of 2002, Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. acquired Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants to accelerate the Company's multibranding strategy and drive global growth by offering consumers two brands and more choice in one restaurant. The Company changed its name to Yum! Brands, Inc. from Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., to reflect its expanding portfolio of brands and its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: YUM).
Today, KFC is the world’s largest fried chicken business. Our superb foods and drinks are now served in more than 13,000 outlets in 80 countries. KFC is certainly ready to delight you whenever you care to visit.