KFC logs promise to make homes smell like fried chicken

The sights and sounds of the holiday season are familiar to us all: snow falling gently outside, stockings overflowing with gifts, “White Christmas” playing softly in the background.

Now imagine that scene, except the whole house smells like Kentucky Fried Chicken.

That’s the vision of holiday cheer that KFC is hoping to sell this month, with the release of a branded log designed to create a “warm fried chicken-scented fire” on the hearth.

When KFC launched the logs in 2018, the chain sold its entire supply online in three hours, according to a company representative. This year, the logs are on sale at Walmart for $18.99, in what the retailer describes as a limited-time deal. KFC would not say how many logs are available.

KFC has been pitching the scented logs as an environmentally sustainable alternative to firewood: The chain designed the product in a partnership with Enviro-Log, a company that makes firewood substitutes from recycled waxed cardboard.

In a statement, KFC’s chief marketing officer in the US, Andrea Zahumensky, said the chain had received “weekly calls from hopeful fans” desperate for the return of the log. “We hope you’ll cuddle up with your family or friends with a bucket of our world-famous fried chicken and a warm fried chicken-scented fire this holiday season,” Zahumensky said.

The release of the scented log marks a fitting conclusion to a busy year of fried-chicken marketing. In August, a seemingly innocuous post on Twitter by the Popeyes social media team set off the “chicken sandwich wars” as Chick-fil-A and other chains jockeyed to assert their products as the best. And in five hours on a Tuesday at the end of August, KFC sold its entire test supply of chickenless fried chicken developed by plant-based meat company Beyond Meat.

Nor is this the first time that a fast-food chain has attempted to cash in on Christmas. McDonald’s is offering a branded Christmas sweater. Dunkin’ is selling peppermint-scented wrapping paper.

The unveiling of the scented logs drew immediate ridicule on Twitter from critics who called it a new low in Christmas marketing. “Hoping also to find a candle that smells like someone cooking salmon in the staff microwave,” one user said. (KFC has offered a scented candle in the past, but it smelled like gravy rather than microwaved fish.)

Still, the new product has at least one important advantage over homemade alternatives, according to Walmart. The log, the retailer’s website states, is significantly less wasteful than “burning actual fried chicken.”

But Walmart also urges caution: While the burning log may smell like fried chicken, it would be inadvisable to attempt to eat it.

“Please,” the website said, “do not put your face directly into the fire.”


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source: news.abs-cbn.com

KFC to test meatless chicken at Georgia restaurant

WASHINGTON - KFC will test vegetarian, plant-based chicken for one day in one restaurant in the US state of Georgia, the American fast food giant said on Monday.

Complimentary samples of the new product, which was developed in partnership with Beyond Meat and is dubbed "Beyond Fried Chicken," will be available at the KFC in Smyrna, Georgia on Tuesday, and customers can also buy nuggets and boneless wings made from the non-meat.

"I think we've all heard 'it tastes like chicken' -- well our customers are going to be amazed and say, 'it tastes like Kentucky Fried Chicken!'" president and chief concept officer for KFC US Kevin Hochman said in a statement.

KFC's foray into plant-based meat follows Burger King's debut earlier this year of the Impossible Whopper, a meatless version of its signature beef hamburger developed with Impossible Foods. 

The start-up is one of several competitors in the rapidly growing field of food companies catering to people who don't eat meat.

Beyond Meat said in a statement that feedback from the test in Georgia will help KFC consider a national rollout of the meat-free chicken.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LOOK: KFC PH offers 'Double Down Dog'

MANILA – KFC Philippines on Monday introduced a new incarnation of its “Double Down” chicken sandwich.

Dubbed the “Double Down Dog,” the sandwich features a large chicken fillet hugging a chicken and cheese hotdog.

Only 50 orders of the product are offered at selected KFC stores in Metro Manila for two days -- January 26 and 27.

Released in the Philippines in 2010, the original Double Down featured two chicken fillets, with bacon and a special sauce as filling.

KFC eventually introduced a spicy version of the sandwich as well as one with real bread buns.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why KFC stopped selling fries in Japan

TOKYO - Kentucky Fried Chicken in Japan has stopped selling fries, as industrial disputes that have crimped potato exports from the US took another bite out of the country's fast food market.

The chain became the latest casualty of the chip shortage that has already forced McDonald's Japan to ration its servings.

"Due to the prolonged dockworkers' disputes on the United States West Coast, it has become difficult to secure stable supplies of potatoes," the firm said in a statement dated Thursday.

"The company will halt the sales of potatoes temporarily until a stable supply becomes available."

Chip troubles for "The Colonel" came after McDonald's in Japan said last month it had airlifted in more than 1,000 tonnes of potatoes and had put in place emergency shipment via an unusual sea route.

The airlift eased the shortage that had forced the chain to limit customers to small servings of fries.

That came after the operator of the Gusto restaurant chain also said it planned to airlift in around 200 tons of french fries to avoid running short.

Dockworkers in the US are reportedly on a go-slow and have not been providing full crews for months in a bid to gain bargaining leverage in labour negotiations with employers.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kentucky Fried Chicken shuts its doors in Syria

DAMASCUS - US fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken has closed the doors of its last remaining branch in Syria due to economic and supply problems, shopkeepers in Damascus told AFP.

The branch in the upscale Abu Rummaneh neighbourhood of Damascus is the last of seven KFCs in Syria to have shuttered.

"Closed. Please leave your number if you are interested in buying this establishment," a sign posted on the branch's window now reads.

KFC was the first US fast-food restaurant to set up shop in Syria in 2006, with Kuwaiti businessman Nasser Khurafi bringing the chain to the country.

It remained open despite the sanctions imposed against Syria by the United States in response to the regime's crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011.

"The business was facing multiple problems" including in procuring supplies, a local businessman told AFP.

The conflict that began with an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime has ravaged Syria's agricultural sector while fighting has made delivery of products to market increasingly difficult.

The violence has also caused the value of the Syrian pound to plunge and produced increasing poverty among Syrians, making the cost of a KFC meal beyond the reach of most.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com