KFC’s Food Safety Campaign Backfiring With Chinese Consumers

by Karl Utermohlen | December 4, 2013 1:26 pm

Yum Brands’ (YUM[1]) KFC website in China is asking consumers to trust in the restaurant’s products once again after losing many customers last year.

The website has the slogan “Trust in every bite”[3] which is part of the chain’s ‘I Commit’ campaign, according to Reuters. The campaign intends to win back some of its customers after being scared away by a Dec. 2012 report of Yum using too many antibiotics in a few of its KFC suppliers.  A recent poll surveyed 1,000 consumers and it showed that 39% of them are still concerned about the Yum’s use of antibiotics. Some consumers have even said that the ‘I Commit’ campaign has pushed them even further from the company’s chicken. 

Yum has about 4,500 restaurants in China which make it the largest Western restaurant chain in the country. Additionally, KFC restaurants in China account for about half of chain’s total revenue. The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration investigated the report’s claims and they found no evidence of KFC’s chicken being contaminated.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/12/kfcs-food-safety-campaign-backfiring-chinese-consumers/

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