KFC introduces KFC Nashville Chicken with a fun activity in Mumbai

In the recent promotion of the limited-edition Double Down Burger at KFC India, Colonel Sanders has a straightforward note for all chicken enthusiasts - 'No need for explanations, just relish it.'

"Innovation, while being distinctive, is at the core of everything we do at KFC. It is an offering where you just satisfy your cravings, no questions asked! Like the OG Colonel Sanders says in the new campaign, “isse samjho mat, bas khao”. We are already seeing great offtake for the Double Down Burger, as chicken lovers across the country indulge in this cult product.” said, Aparna Bhawal, CMO, KFC India & Partner Countries.

In the television commercial, pair of identical twins is depicted, gazing at the Double Down Burger placed before them with astonishment.

A series of inquiries follow as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of the all-chicken, bun-less burger before them. The initial question comes from the first twin, who asks, "Bro, ye cheez kya hai ye?" To this, his counterpart responds, "Bro, ye kya hai cheez?"

“The campaign idea came from the name itself. Double Down. And that's what we played with. The double irony of a set of twins, discovering the marvel of the Double Down Burger in a really fun, crazy, way.” said, Ritu Sharda, CCO, North, Ogilvy India

The exclusive KFC Double Down Burger, available for a limited time, consists of two succulent chicken fillets enveloping delectable sauces (a combination of spicy and creamy Dynamite Mayo along with Sriracha) and crispy vegetables in-between.

The new KFC Chicken Roll features a hand-breaded extra crispy and juicy chicken strip, wrapped in a warm flaky paratha, and topped with Spicy Garlic and Nashville sauces, along with crispy onions.

It is priced at INR 99/- for the Classic Chicken Roll and INR 149/- for the Double Chicken Roll. This irresistible new menu item guarantees a chicken-filled experience in every bite.

With its delicious and filling combination of crispy chicken, flavorful sauces, and crispy onions, the Chicken Roll is the perfect choice for any time of day.

Similar to all other items on KFC's menu, the new KFC Chicken Roll also comes with the guarantee of KFC's 5X Safety Promise.

This includes strict measures for sanitization, screening, social distancing, and contactless service, with all teams being vaccinated.

The restaurant's surfaces and frequently touched areas undergo regular sanitization, while the team members and delivery personnel are screened regularly for their temperatures to ensure the highest standards of safety and hygiene.

KFC fans can now enjoy indulgent food without worrying about the price tag. The new Chicken Roll offers an affordable option for lunch, dinner, or a midday snack.

KFC India has a ‘spicy’ surprise up their sleeves, or should we say, on their Bucket of Chicken! Presenting the all-new KFC Peri Peri Chicken.

This flavourful twist is available in variants of Hot & Crispy Chicken & Chicken Strips.

This latest offering by KFC was launched by none other than superstar Allu Arjun as he grooved with Colonel Sanders in the campaign film, declaring KFC’s Chicken Peri Peri is Sooper Very Very!

This limited time offering from KFC is available across all restaurants in the country and on delivery through the KFC App & Website.

“Inspired by the African Bird’s Eye chile, the Peri Peri sprinkle adds a dash of spice to your KFC favourites. The distinct bright red coloring & strong aroma of Peri Peri, drizzled to perfection over crispy, crunchy KFC Chicken, draws you in for a spicy delight. Once you’ve savoured a Bucket of Peri Peri Chicken, it leaves you with an enjoyable experience and a mild fiery after-taste that lingers on,” shared the KFC release.

A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM.), KFC is a global chicken restaurant brand that operate more than 26,000 restaurants in over 145 countries and territories around the world.

Following the introduction of the much-talked-about KFC Jack Harlow Meal, the partnership between the two Kentucky icons keeps getting bigger and better – now with the release of first-class branded merch.

The Jack Harlow x KFC merch is now available via www.JackHarlow.us/KFC for a limited time only, while supplies last.

Fans can get their hands on apparel exclusively designed for the Jack Harlow x KFC partnership, including sweatshirts and t-shirts featuring art from the Jack Harlow Meal packaging and the iconic KFC throwback slogan, "We do chicken right." Prices start at $35 (tax extra).

The Jack Harlow Meal is available at KFC now through July 17. It includes Jack's favorite menu items: the KFC Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Mac & Cheese, Secret Recipe Fries, a side of ranch, and a nice cold lemonade, all served in custom Jack Harlow x KFC packaging.

To celebrate the launch of the Jack Harlow Meal, KFC transformed an Atlanta KFC (2637 Cobb Pkwy SE, Smyrna, Ga.) into an Insta-worthy Jack's Meal HQ where fans were given an exclusive first taste of Jack's meal and the chance to meet Jack Harlow on June 4. Harlow even spent time surprising fans in the drive-thru.

KFC operates more than 26,000 restaurants in more than 145 countries and territories around the world.

KFC India is celebrating the milestone of 600restaurants strong with the #KFCBucketCanvas campaign.

The campaign brought together young artists from across the country who together, transformed the iconic KFC Bucket into the #KFCBucketCanvas, with a unique design for each city that the brand has a presence in.

Drawing inspiration from the art, architecture, and cultural elements of different cities, these 150 limited edition designs are on display across restaurants.

“It’s been an amazing journey for KFC in India, with the brand now present across 150+ cities and crossing 600 restaurants. So, what better way for us to mark this moment, by partnering with young, upcoming artists across the length and breadth of our country. The iconic KFC Bucket served as a Canvas for them to showcase their talent and bring alive the uniqueness of the different regions of India with 150 unique designs,” shared Moksh Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer, KFC India by adding that they’re blown away with the talent that’s emerged, and are privileged to be able to provide a visibility opportunity to such fabulous new talent.

The journey began with the artists exploring different cities, scanning through popular landmarks, walking through narrow lanes, interacting with its offerings of food, people, language and culture – essentially catching the pulse of the city. All this and more, was then brought alive on the KFC Bucket, painted with much (KFC) love of course.

From Nagpur’s famous oranges to Darjeeling’s coniferous trees and toy train; from Kolkata’s landmark bridge to Coimbatore’s lush green banana plantations – each Bucket design is a masterpiece. And you needn’t fret about missing out on designs of cities apart from your own. While you are admiring the Bucket Canvas design in your city, simply scan the QR code displayed at the bottom that leads to a microsite where all 150 designs are displayed. Here you can also learn more about the talented artists, understand what inspired & moved them to create their design and admire their Bucket design.

KFC India is bringing a new customer delight by launching the all new KFC Biryani Bucket - crispy, juicy KFC chicken with flavourful Biryani rice.

This latest offering from KFC is replete with all things biryani, with a distinct KFC twist. Starting with flavourable rice that forms the essence of any biryani, spiced with the choicest of condiments; mixed with crispy fried onion that’s typical to a biryani, and the highlight being the topping of KFC’s signature chicken.

The biryani also has a spicy gravy as a side for that perfect kick of flavour.

Customers can choose from 4 delectable variations including Hot & Crispy Chicken Biryani Bucket, Popcorn Chicken Biryani Bucket, Smoky Grilled Biryani Bucket and Veg Biryani Bucket. 

The indulgent KFC Biryani Bucket will be available across all KFC restaurants in the country.

The crispy, crunchy, and wholesome offering is backed by KFC’s 5X Safety Promise of Sanitization, Screening, Social Distancing, and Contactless service with Vaccinated teams.

The all new biryani bucket is starting at INR 169 and is available on delivery & take-away on the KFC App and website.

Fast food chain KFC is launching a series of plant based products at selected locations in Hong Kong under The New Era plant based series.

The fast food giant will be offering products from Alpha Foods and Gardein through a partnership with Green Monday, said a release by Vegconomist.

Green Monday has announced that starting, 29th June, KFC in Hong Kong is launching their new Plant-Based Series at 19 selected stores.

The New Era Nuggets is a created with Alpha Foods plant-based ingredients that contains 12 grams of non-GMO, plant-based protein and is free of cholesterol or synthetic hormones, served with fries and a classic BBQ sauce.

And, The New Era Burger has a plant-based patty by Gardein, which is made with soy, wheat, pea protein, organic grains and vegetables. Containing no cholesterol and no saturated fat, served on with Italian focaccia, with sliced cheese, salad dressing (remove cheese and dressing to make vegan-friendly), BBQ sauce, fresh lettuce and tomatoes with tortilla chips.

“When the legendary KFC Colonel dons green, you know a NEW ERA is officially here!  On this special Green Monday here in Hong Kong, we are thrilled to announce the introduction of plant-based ‘New Era Nuggets’ and ‘New Era Burger’ on KFC menu, featuring exciting products from Alpha Foods and Gardein respectively.  This milestone launch will without a doubt further ignite the plant-based movement in Asia and globally.” said David Yeung, the founder of Green Monday and Green Common.

Fast food restaurant chain KFC India has made an investment in Salesforce solutions to offer the much-needed choice and convenience to customers. With this investment, the brand wanted to mature its campaigns and offer customers with increasingly relevant offerings.

KFC’s move to invest in the Salesforce Data Management Platform (DMP) will help it in capturing more customer data and segment it more precisely.

Moksh Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC India, said, “The restaurant industry in India is hyper-competitive, and as our customers experiment with different outlets and new apps, we need to ensure we are able to understand individual customer needs and preferences to provide them offerings that are highly relevant.”

“To compete and win customers, KFC India has turned to Salesforce to evolve its marketing and customer experience. For KFC India, this has sparked a journey to better understand its customers and satisfy their cravings for a personalised experience,” he added.

KFC targets to know its customers with Salesforce

The QSR chain runs over 350 restaurants across India. KFC targets to drive visitors to its restaurants, and also increase orders through its website and app.

Chopra stated, “With Salesforce, we can really get to know our customers and personalise their experience even as their behavior and preferences change. The vision for KFC India is to reach every customer with 1:1 messaging and offerings that predict what they will order next. This has made data capture a priority.”

With Salesforce, KFC India is aiming at capturing information about its dine-in and delivery customers, including all transaction data like customers’ contact details, which products they are ordering and which channels they are using.

“With these insights, KFC India is starting to segment customers and personalise, to a certain extent, campaigns based on consumption and spending habits. In the past, we would send out the same communication to everyone in our database, whereas now communications are contextualised,” Chopra further said.

Utilizing multi-channel campaigns

The restaurant chain is experiencing the results of its marketing transformation. It ran a multi-channel campaign, using SMS, email and in-app notifications, during a recent cricket season, and resulted in substantial increase in CRM revenue contribution and overall ROI (return on investment).

Vipin Gupta, Head, digital, Yum Brands, stated, “If we can better understand our customers across all of the different touchpoints, including social media, we can start to predict their behavior and send them communications with the most relevant offerings that more likely to convert.”

In what is a historic first, Madame Tussauds, the world’s most famous wax attraction, welcomed the ‘Iconic Burger’ - Zinger at its location in Regal building in Connaught Place, New Delhi.

Delighting burger-lovers since 1984 and loved in more than 120 countries, the Zinger is easily the most ‘drool worthy’ addition at Madame Tussauds Delhi.

Just like a true celeb, the Zinger has real fans, has made it to headlines and is truly an original; one of a kind celeb burger. And a place amongst leading celebrities & iconic personalities is just what it deserves.

But how did a not-so-humble burger find its way to Madame Tussauds? Moksh Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer, KFC India explains, “While many have wondered if the Zinger is a piece of art or a celeb; all debates are now put to rest with the Zinger asserting its celeb status at Madame Tussauds. Surely this isn’t any regular burger. It is the only burger that has travelled to space and has even inspired tattoo artworks for some. In 2018 alone we sold more than 10 million Zingers in India - that's like a Zinger each for every person in New Zealand and Singapore!”

Just as the actual Zinger burger is hand made with care at the KFC restaurant, the Zinger at Madame Tussauds Delhi was crafted with similar precision. Madame Tussauds is globally known for their lifelike figures of famous personalities; each figure being created using precise measurements & photographs by skilled artists and sculptors to capture exact details.

Anshul Jain, General Manager, and Director, Merlin Entertainments India Pvt. Ltd, adds, "Madame Tussauds Delhi is one of the most favored and loved family entertainment destination in Delhi NCR. Our endeavor has always been to give a complete and memorable experience to all our visitors. We welcome the Zinger Burger to Madame Tussauds Delhi"

Visitors can feast their eyes upon the Zinger burger at Madame Tussauds in Delhi from 21st August. So hurry, before the Zinger heads out on a new adventure!

Yum! Brands' KFC India will sell off 61 equity-owned restaurants to diversified group RJ Corp-promoted Devyani International (DIL) for an undisclosed sum. The move is in line with its global strategy to exit capital-intensive operations and focus on brand growth and development. 

Under the agreement, DIL, which is already Yum!'s biggest franchise partner in India, will be acquiring 61 additional restaurants in Karnataka, AP and Telangana.

Samir Menon, Managing Director of KFC India, said, "We continue to re-evaluate ownership strategy as part of an annual process and in line with business growth. The strategic intent is to unlock growth for the brand."

In November 2018, KFC had divested 13 restaurants to DIL for the Kerala and Goa markets.

Virag Joshi, Chief Executive Officer, DIL, stated, "KFC is one of the fastest growing brands in our portfolio. Our partnership with Yum is driven by a commitment to build the brand by expanding geographic presence and driving world-class operations."

With this latest divestment, less than 10% of KFC India's 400 outlets across more than a hundred cities are now company-operated.

Menon added, "Going forward, the company is targeting to better last year's expansion of setting up 50 additional outlets, which are predominantly expected to be through franchisees. At this point, there is no intent to set up more equity restaurants, unless the market dynamics demand."

Yum! China Holdings that runs KFC in China is planning to open outlets at gas stations.

The QSR chain is partnering with China's two biggest state oil giants to open franchise fast-food outlets at gas stations in the country.

"It's something quite new for both of us, we're going to open some stores and figure out the economics, once we figure out the economics then we can be more specific on the financials," said Joey Wat, CEO, Yum China told Reuters in an interview after an investor day in Shanghai.

It is likely that KFC will be opening over 100 outlets that will be owned by Sinopec Corp and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) over the next three years, Yum China said on Tuesday, without giving any financial details.

The CEO also added the company was adapting to changes in China's economy, whose growth has slowed to a 28-year low. For example, the company was rolling out more value promotions to meet demand from customers who were seeking more value-for-money deals.

On Valentine’s Day (or any other day) does your bae leave you hanging, or worse, forgets to call you back? Worry not, as there is an adorable new bae in town that won’t do any of this, and just follow you wherever you go -KFC Bucket Bae- ‘Cause true love follows you back!

KFC India introduces ‘Bucket Bae’– your one true love that follows you unconditionally and shares your love for finger lickin’ good chicken(now that’s what I call a ‘Bae’!). And that’s not it, Bae also talks chicken to you, plays your favourite music, holds your cup of Krushers and the best part - keeps your favourite KFC chicken close to you. You can see the love in its eyes as it watches you dig into that crispy chicken piece, well literally, as it blinks its adorable heart-shaped eyes.

“There is no love like the love of chicken! And if someone (or something) that follows you around with your favourite chicken isn’t true love, then what is? This Valentine’s Day we wanted to do something unique and add just a dash of (true) love to our consumer’s lives. So, here’s KFC Bucket Bae - a bundle, no, bucket of love on wheels that follows you through thick and thin, promising to never leave your side. It is surely going to be a finger lickin’ good Valentine’s this year,” said Moksh Chopra, CMO, KFC India.

You have exactly nine days to woo Bae and make your Valentine’s Day warm, romantic and even crispier. Interact with KFC Bucket Bae through KFC’s social media channels; you can also catch interesting updates by Bae on its Insta profile. On February 14, Bucket Bae will mingle with fans across select cities, with cute messages, witty flirting, and even some PDA(for chicken of course)!        

Excited much? To win a chance to meet your true love, simply upload your unique declaration of love for‘KFC Bucket Bae’ on KFC’s Facebook and Instagram profiles or just swipe right on Bucket Bae’s online profile, if you spot it on a dating app. If you impress Bae, well it could be yours.

Five lucky consumers who manage to woo Baewill take home, not just KFC’s golden fried, crispy chicken bucket, but also walk into the sunset with Bucket Bae.

Keep following KFC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to know more. Until then, perfect those love proposals - “I love you Bae-utiful”!

KFC has announced a new global sustainability commitment to remove all plastic-based, consumer-facing packaging.

The American fast food restaurant is planning to use recoverable or reusable packaging by 2025.

 "As a global brand that operates more than 22,000 restaurants in over 135 countries, KFC is in a position to have a real impact on how the industry approaches waste and packaging management overall," shared Tony Lowings, CEO, KFC by adding that with environmental sustainability as a core aspect of how KFC does business, this commitment represents a public acknowledgment of the obligation the brand has to address these serious issues.

KFC is also partnering with major suppliers and franchisees globally to identify plastic alternatives in each market. The restaurant chain is working on several key initiatives related to achieving these goals, including conducting an audit of current systems with franchisees to identify plastic waste reduction opportunities; partnering with suppliers to identify sustainable packaging alternatives for items like straws, plastic bags, cutlery and lids; and setting market-specific goals to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Globally, KFC has already stopped providing plastic straws and cup lids in its stores in Singapore, KFC Romania's and France's common goal to replace all plastic straws with paper; and KFC India's removal of consumer plastic bags from their restaurants and ongoing transition to sustainable alternatives for plastic cups, bowls, sporks and straws.

अक्सर ऑफिस जाने वाले लोग वीकएंड आते-आते काफी थकान महसूस करने लगते हैं। ज्यादातर लोग वीकएंड पर या तो बाहर से खाना ऑर्डर करते हैं या बाहर जाकर ही खाना पसंद करते हैं। टेक्नोलॉजी ने सब कुछ इतना आसान बना दिया है कि आप बस एक टच से शहर के किसी भी कोने से घर पर खाने की डिलीवरी करवा सकते हैं। इतना ही नहीं, आज के समय में टेक्नोलॉजी इतनी विकसित हो चुकी है कि अब आपको टच करने की भी जरूरत नहीं है। सिर्फ आपके बोलने भर से खाना आपके सामने हाजिर हो जाएगा और ये मुमकिन किया है अमेजॉन के प्रोडक्ट 'एलेक्सा' ने। लेकिन फिलहाल आप इस पर सिर्फ केएफसी से ही खाना ऑर्डर कर सकते हैं।

एलेक्सा पर केएफसी से ऑर्डर करने के लिए आपको बस एलेक्सा ऐप ऑन करनी है और कहना है, 'एलेक्सा, स्टार्ट केएफसी', 'एलेक्सा लॉन्च केएफसी', 'एलेक्सा टैल केएफसी आई एम हंगरी' और फिर आपको कुछ बेहद स्वादिष्ट सरप्राइज़ मिलेंगे। इसलिए अब आराम से जब मन चाहे केएफसी और एलेक्सा से ऑर्डर कीजिए।

खाने और टेक्नोलॉजी के इस समझौते से केएफसी भारत एलेक्सा से ऑनलाइन ऑर्डर करने वाला देश का पहला QSR ब्रांड बन गया है।

केएफसी भारत के चीफ मार्केटिंग ऑफिसर मोक्ष चोपड़ा ने कहा, 'आवाज की पहचान आज के समय में गेम चेंजर बन रही है, मिलेनियल के साथ तेजी से बढ़ रही है और इस नई टेक्नोलॉजी में सहज बन रही है। इसलिए केएफसी का बेहद स्वादिष्ट खाना अब एलेक्सा प्लेटफॉर्म पर इंटरैक्टिव तकनीक के माध्यम से ऑर्डर करने के लिए उपलब्ध है। ये ग्राहकों का मनपसंद खाना घर पर ही ऑर्डर करने को सरल बनाता है।'

एलेक्सा के माध्यम से अब ग्राहक केएफसी डिलीवरी के दायरे में कैश ऑन डिलीवरी कर सकते हैं। केएफसी से ऑर्डर का अनुभव आप सभी अमेज़ॉन इको स्मार्ट स्पीकर के साथ-साथ एलेक्सा बिल्ट-इन डिवाइसेस जैसे हरमन कार्डन एल्योर के रूप में भी ले सकते हैं।

एलेक्सा स्किल्स, अमेज़ॉन इंडिया के देश प्रबंधक दिलीप आर.एस का कहना है, 'जैसे ही यूजर्स एलेक्सा से जुड़ने के आदी हो जाते हैं, वे रोजाना के अनुभवों में वॉइस टेक्नोलॉजी को अपनाने के लिए नए तरीके खोजते हैं। आवाज के माध्यम से सरल तरीके से खाना ऑर्डर करना काफी सुविधाजनक हो सकता है। हम इस बात को लेकर उत्साहित हैं कि एलेक्सा यूजर्स अब इसके नए कौशल के साथ कुछ ही मिनटों में केएफसी से अपना पसंदीदा खाना ऑर्डर कर सकते हैं।'

Tired after a hard day’s work? Craving some good food, but don’t feel like even lifting a finger? Don’t you wish someone would just hear you and make your wish come true? Well, would you believe us if we told you that you can now call out your favorite finger lickin’ good KFC and Alexa will make it happen.

We kid you not! It’s time to change into comfy sweats, settle into your lazy bean bags and order that big bucket of crispy juicy goodness.To start ordering KFC on Alexa, all you have to do is enable the skill from the Alexa app and say “Alexa, start KFC”; “Alexa Launch KFC”; “Alexa tell KFC I am hungry” and you’re in for some finger lickin’ good surprise. So, sit back and dig into your treat as KFC and Alexa make ordering food at home easier than ever.

With this alliance of food and technology, KFC India becomes the first QSR brand in the country to associate with Alexa for online ordering.

“Voice recognition is becoming a game changer today, with millennials rapidly embracing and getting comfortable with this new technology. So, the finger lickin’ good taste of KFC is now available to be ordered through interactive voice technology on the Alexa platform – making it super easy and fast for consumers to order their favourite food at home,” said Moksh Chopra, Chief Marketing Officer, KFC India.

Through Alexa, consumers can now place a hands-free Cash on Delivery order within the KFC delivery radius. The KFC skill can be experienced across all Amazon Echo smart speakers as well as a range of Alexa built-in devices such as Harman Kardon Allure.

“As users get accustomed to engaging with Alexa, they look for new ways to embrace voice technology in their daily experiences. The ease of ordering food with just a few voice commands can be very convenient”, said Dilip R.S., Country Manager for Alexa Skills, Amazon India. “We are excited that Alexa users can now order their favourites from KFC in a few minutes with this new skill”, he added.

Yum! Brands-owned KFC India has handed over 13 more outlets to Devyani International, its largest franchise partner, which is promoted by RJ Corp. Devyani has bought KFC restaurants in Kerala and Goa. 

The move comes as part of the company's global strategy of reducing ownership of restaurants and being a brand custodian. It looks to push growth in the Indian market with billion-plus potential consumers. 

Samir Menon, Managing Director of KFC, said, "We continue to have a play in the market through a mix of both equity-owned and franchise-owned stores. The refranchising of restaurants in Kerala and Goa to Devyani was part of the company's strategy to unlock growth for the brand. Devyani already had a presence in the two states and the decision to consolidate was a logical commercial step."

"We share a common vision for longterm and sustainable growth for KFC in the country," Menon added. 

Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of RJ Corp, said, "We will be happy to acquire more KFC stores if and when Yum! decides to franchise them."

Chicken restaurant company, KFC has been roped in Theatre actor Denzil Smith as the mascot for India. He will play the role of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC.

 “I am honoured to play this Colonel which is played by 14 other people all over the world. I am really honoured to be doing this part,” he told IANS here dressed in the signature look of late Colonel Sanders.

Colonel Harland David Sanders was an American businessman, best known for founding fast-food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (now known as KFC) and later acting as the company’s brand ambassador and symbol.

Denzil made his appearance in the new role at the KFC restaurant here where he also introduced KFC Land with the guests present. He called it the land of the “tastiest chicken” and also declared July 6 as National Fried Chicken Day.

 “With KFC Land we wanted to ensure that our communication was as unique as our food. Over the months ahead you are going to hear about our new launches, activation, offers and all other brand initiatives through this platform,” Moksh Chopra, Director Marketing, KFC India, said.

Colonel, as the brand wants to call Denzil, handpicked a few to be part of his exclusive India crew and this included ‘Veere Di Wedding’ actress Shikha Talsania, actor Sumeet Vyas, Reality show star Prince Narula and South Indian model and actor Raiza Wilson.

In order to increase the recall value of its brand, KFC India has entered into the cosmetic sector with the launch of flavored lip balms.

Handcrafted from natural ingredients, KFC’s Double Trouble Lip Balms will be available in a combination of two flavors – Yellow American Mustard and Red Sweet Chilli – in one compact case, said a statement.

“We have always had fun experimenting with our food and introducing unique flavors. This time while working on new flavors, our chefs came up with this distinct combo that was so unique and irresistible that we named it the Double Trouble,” said Lluis Ruiz Ribot, CMO, KFC India while commenting on the launch.

“We decided to have some fun and make this amazing flavor combination available to consumers in a portable lip balm format. These ‘Double Trouble’ balms are so ‘lip smackin’ good’ that consumers will find themselves reaching for it again and again,” he added.

The twist to these KFC flavors has been created using completely organic ingredients. The lip balms will be available on sale from April 1 to April 5 online.

In a bid to leverage the rapidly growing online food delivery model used by aggregators such as Swiggy and Zomato, KFC plans to set up stealth kitchens in India, probably a first for the domestic quick service industry in the country.

"These standalone full-service KFC kitchens won’t have any customer interface, will not double up as dine-in or take-away stores, and will have minimal branding," shares Samir Menon, MD, KFC India. 

Adding on the same Menon says, “We can’t always expect the customer to come to us - we also have to find ways to go to the customer as far as possible. We believe the concept will help create accessibility for customers who don’t necessarily have a KFC around them."

The release also shares that Yum Brands which owns KFC is looking at driving delivery in different ways across the business. “Delivery for the category has been growing and fuelled by food aggregators — they fired delivery in a big way and unlocked the ability for consumers to get food whenever they want, wherever they are," adds Menon.

Similar to most quick service brands, KFC’s entry-level products are priced at Rs 30 and above. Of the 345 existing stores KFC India operates, 250 are franchised, while the remaining 95 are equity (Yum!-owned) stores.

Meanwhile, the brand will continue to operate through a mix of franchised and equity stores though the ratio will be skewed towards franchisee stores.

West Bengal government said its Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Department has signed an MoU with Devyani International Ltd for setting up more KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the state.

"This is an expansion plan of Devyani International to open four-to-five KFC restaurants and two-to-three Pizza hut restaurants every year at various locations in the state for the next five years. The total investment by the group is Rs 100 crore," a government statement said.

Devyani International Ltd, the Indian franchisee of Yum Restaurants India, represents the KFC, Pizza Hut chains in the country.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky in the US, Yum! Brands, Inc. is one of the world's largest restaurant chains with 44,000 restaurants globally in 135 countries. It owns the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.

Initially, the locations of Kolkata, Asansol, Durgapur and Siliguri have been chosen by the group to set up restaurants and about 1,400 direct and indirect employments are expected.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) chief executive Pawan Agarwal said “The government will establish a self-regulation platform for food companies, retailers stocking packaged food and fastfood restaurant chains. The move will help benchmark them against the best in class, thus raising standards and making companies mindful of rules and consumers. This will encourage healthy competition among companies, retailers and QSR chains and will be an open platform for consumers to see for themselves. The companies will be ranked on basis of their declarations and the platform will also mention names of companies which haven't shared the required information.

Companies such as Hindustan Unilever, PepsiCo, Nestle, Parle Products, Danone, ITC, Patanjali and Mondelez, retailers like Walmart and Future Group, Aditya Birla Retail and Spencer’s Retail and quick service restaurant (QSR) chains including KFC and McDonald’s will be put on an equal self-compliance footing under the plan.

FSSAI’s “food safety and shared responsibility” score will be a publicly accessible online platform for companies to rate themselves against parameters such as compliance with regulations, nutritive content, dealing with consumer grievances, upstream and downstream supply chain capacity and promoting food safety in schools. It’s been dubbed ReFoc for responsible food companies score.

Agarwal also said “By engagement, sharing, cross-learning and healthy competition, we want to raise the bar not only for food safety but make foods businesses more responsive to consumers and government regulation. As we move forward, we will make this matrix more robust.”

The regulator has invited the top 200 companies by sales to join the platform in the first phase of the self-regulation exercise. The FSSAI said it will make public names of companies that don’t want to participate.

Nestle, the country's largest packaged foods maker, welcomed the move and said in a statement “We believe in providing, transparent and responsible communication to the consumers as well as other stakeholders. We welcome initiatives which encourage sharing of information and will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders on this subject.”

HUL Spokesperson said “This will not only encourage the food business to take full responsibility of food safety but also ensure that regulators can review with consistency the efforts being made by the companies on safety and hygiene”.

Danone India managing director Rodrigo Lima said “Food safety cannot be the responsibility of the regulator alone, self-regulation by food businesses and awareness of consumers will go a long way in creating an atmosphere of trust and quality. This resonates well with our mission of bringing health through food to as many people as possible.”

KFC MD India said “We are committed to contribute to the larger objective of ensuring health, hygiene and safety standards for consumers and proactively working on bringing global best practices and driving knowledge sharing programmes with the regulators”.

A green body alleged that fast food majors in India were adopting "double standards" by committing themselves to eliminating misuse of antibiotics in meat supply chains in a time-bound manner in the West but not in India.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released an assessment report based on data in public domain and response obtained from several multinational companies and three Indian firms selling fast food in the country.

Deputy Director General of the CSE, Chandra Bhushan said “Our study shows that these fast food MNCs do not have any India-specific commitments to eliminate misuse of antibiotics in their meat supply chains. Surprisingly, these global giants have made ambitious, specific and time-bound commitments in the US and other countries to eliminate antibiotic misuse owing to growing pressure from regulators and other stakeholders. This is sheer "double standards".

Jubilant Foodworks, a domestic franchise for the US-based popular chain Domino's Pizza, said "We follow global standards and processes, and ensure that the highest standards of quality and food safety and hygiene are maintained across our supply chain. It has a formal policy in place on usage of antibiotics in poultry birds' health management to guide their sourcing of poultry.  We have always had a set of standards followed while sourcing poultry for our products, ensuring that our suppliers follow the right farm practices”.

KFC said in a statement “it adheres to all laws and regulations regarding the use of antibiotics. Furthermore, as part of our strict adherence to robust safety practices and processes, chicken supplied to KFC India is free from any antibiotic residue, as our chicken supplies are subjected to a withdrawal period specific to each medicinal treatment”.

Head, Food Safety and Toxins programme at CSE, Amit Khurana said "Fast food is not good for health and on top of that if the meat is sourced from an animal injected with antibiotics for growth promotion (non-therapeutic use), then it's a double whammy for the consumer. A person may or may not get affected after consuming such food. While some others shared their practices of sourcing and testing, they did not specify any timelines by which they planned to eliminate antibiotic misuse”.

KFC, a global restaurant brand, has set its first step in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The brand has opened its first store in Itanagar at Zero Point Tinali near Heema Hospital here on Monday. The outlet has the capacity to house almost 98 people and it is spread over 3000 sq/ft. The store will carry its operations through the week.

Speaking about the launch, Rahul Shinde, MD, KFC India stated that it gives the company an immense pleasure to launch its first store in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. With this store, it aims to get closer to its consumers across the region and introduce them to KFC’s world of craveable and unique food and beverage options.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, KFC is the world's second largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with almost 20,000 locations globally in 123 countries and territories as of December 2015. The company is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.

KFC is planning to launch ‘Watt a Box’, a 5-in-1 meal box along with in built power bank.

The fast food chain has tied up with digital agency, Blink Digital to launch 'watt a box'.

"With the launch of Watt a Box, we have gone a step ahead and also introduced an element of utility into the box,” shared Lluis Ruiz Ribot, CMO at KFC adding, “each one of us spends a considerable time on our smartphones daily and the phone battery going dead is almost like a nightmare.”

Four months back KFC launched the 5-in-1 Meal Box to provide a complete meal at an affordable price to their customers.

"In today's time smartphones have become as indispensable as food. Finding a charger when your smartphone battery is low can be stressful- whether in the middle of a meeting or in the middle of a meal," added, Dooj Ramchandani, Cofounder of Blink Digital.

The new menu box will be launched exclusively in Delhi and Mumbai before venturing to other parts.

KFC India, the quick service restaurant chain operated by Yum Brands has started an initiative called ‘add HOPE’ to support non-governmental organisations and other agencies to fight against hunger among children.

Started from Hyderabad on Wednesday, KFC is targeting to raise funds and awareness on hunger.

With presence across 90 cities in India, the chicken fried chain would use its 14,000 employees in 310 outlets to support the new initiative.

“We will raise funds and encourage our customers and employees to contribute their bit for the programme,” shared, Rahul Shinde, MD, KFC India.

According to the release issued by KFC, the QSR chain has donated Rs 2 crore to two partners in the initiative.

“We gave Akshaya Patra Foundation and World Food ProgrammeRs 1crore each to provide meals to children,” added Shinde.

Beginning May 16, KFC would allow its customers to contributeRs 5 each time they pay for the food at its outlets. “Our target is to provide two crore meals to the poor children by 2020,” he added further.

The firm has flagged off an ‘add Hope’ truck to spread the word about widespread hunger among children.

Yum India! has signed an agreement with Dutch company Advait BV to collect its used cooking oil (UCO) from all its KFC outlets  in the Andhra and Telangana regions.

Advait will convert the UCO into biodiesel or export the feedstock for biodiesel processing in Europe. It currently collects UCO in four South Indian states.

The Dutch company aims to start collecting UCO throughout India with more than 15 collection yards in major cities by the end of this year.

It has also partnered with Southern Online Bio Technologies Ltd., a large scale biodiesel producer in India, to supply UCO to it and market its biodiesel in India and abroad. The biodiesel made will be sold to various road transport organizations in India.