KFC is China’s #1 Fast Food Chain
Crispy fried chicken paired with egg tarts and vegetables. The menu of Chinese KFC has propelled it to the top of the food chain.
When we think of KFC it is synonymous with the United States. Of course, right? It has a state in the damn name! However, KFC like many other American fast-food chains has successfully transcended the international market.
Within China, you can find over 5,000 KFC restaurants in 1,100 cities as of 2019. This has only continued to grow even in the face of the pandemic. Internationalization of American brand’s menus is common practice, but it seems that KFC China has mastered this to a tee.
KFC is by far the largest and most successful fast-food chain in China, outpacing other American giants Pizza Hut and McDonald's. As an American that has a strong dislike for KFC in the States, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the chain within China.
I would never eat at KFC in the US. If I were to go to a chicken chain, I would always have to go with Popeyes. However, in China, it’s definitely the best option. Ranging from their spicy, crispy chicken and insane options for breakfast, they make it rather easy to grab a quick bite to eat.
In this article, I want to give a broad look into the history of KFC in China, and the present of how the brand has continued to build dominance in the fast-food market.
A Brief History of Chinese KFC
The first KFC was opened in China next to Tiananmen Square in 1987. It was a rather symbolic opening, it was an image and sign of China’s expansion into globalist ideas of the economy. Since its opening, it has been turned into a 3,600 square-foot three-story building.
However, this initial restaurant was seen more as a novelty in US life. It was the first western fast food restaurant in China, and it wasn’t truly followed up until 1992 when the Chinese government granted western companies greater access to markets.
Once this access was granted to American businesses, KFC had a very apparent and successful strategy to take over the Chinese market. To create a brand identity that could be a part of the Chinese hegemony, to target small and medium-sized cities for expansion, and outright own their restaurants as opposed to franchising in order to keep legitimacy and quality.
They would continue their staple style of foods including, of course, fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. However, they would expand their menu to help create a resemblance of Chinese culture within their restaurants.
This aspect of western brands breaking into other markets is the most important part of internationalization. Creating a new image of their brand in the likeness of the country they reside in. The rest was history as they say, and KFC since has completely taken over the fast-food market within China.
Living in China I’m often asked about the differences between American and Chinese KFC, so I want to break down and give some insight into the menu of Chinese KFC.
Differences Between American and Chinese KFC
As I mentioned prior, there are still a good amount of similarities between the US and Chinese iterations of KFC. You’ll still find fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the menu. However, some of their other items can give a little bit of insight into the internationalization of their brand.
Dragon Twisters
The dragon twister has a number of variations, the most popular being two chicken breasts, a sweet mayonnaise, and vinaigrette paired with lettuce and cucumber wrapped with a tortilla. Relatively cheap at 17 RMB (or around $2.67 at the time of writing), these snacks are great and easy to eat on the go.
When KFC originally opened in 1987 it was far too pricey for many citizens. To capitalize on this, street vendors would create their own variation of fried chicken and create the Dragon Twister. It was so successful due to them being more easily accessible for the common person compared to KFC at the time.
KFC would see the popularity of the street vendors’ creation and would adopt their own iteration of the twister after some time.
This is one of my favorite items on the menu. I used to eat them a ton but have slowed down after getting burned out. Often getting them on the way to work, I can run to the subway and still enjoy a savory treat.
Crepe Variations
Known in China as jianbing (煎饼), the popular street food also crept its way into KFC China’s menu. Jianbing is one of China’s most popular breakfast street foods. You can walk down the street and see a multitude of vendors cooking and stuffing these bad boys and handing them out for crazy low prices. The smell is amazing, trust me.
With a ton of different variations, KFC’s iteration of the jianbing is stuffed with anything from chopped baked chicken, fried chicken, potato shreds, cucumber, and more.
Both the jianbing and dragon twister items on the menu illustrate KFC China’s ability to capture the essence of Chinese street food culture and ultimately tie itself along with those cultural images. This shows the brand’s internationalization strategy paid dividends in a number of ways.
Rice Plates
Of course a staple of China, rice has played an integral part in the country’s thousands of years of history. It only makes sense that KFC would incorporate rice into their dishes in China.
Holding three permanent rice dishes on the menu including teriyaki chicken chop rice, New Orleans roasted rice and hot spicy chicken rice. These menu items give a blatant Chinese spin to the chicken game of KFC that you definitely won’t find in the US.
Breakfast
Arguably the most popular part of KFC China’s menu is their breakfast. With low prices and quick preparation KFCs are flooded with individuals rushing to work to grab a quick bite to eat.
Featuring a number of carb-based options including hashbrowns, egg tarts, sausage sandwiches, and soybean rolls there are quite a plethora of items to order when breakfast rolls around.
Coffee also plays a major role in their menu, as they offer over 10 different varieties of coffee from the standard americano to sweet lattes. The advertisements for the coffee setting in KFC seem to be the most prevalent, as you can see them on billboards and on Chinese social media daily.
On a personal note, 99% of the time I eat at KFC in China it’s for breakfast. There’s a KFC twenty steps away from my work, so I rush over there before I clock in to grab a quick sausage sandwich and egg tart to get my day going.
Chinese KFC Today
These are just a few examples of the items you can find within Chinese KFC. Western brands, specifically American, making the jump into new markets has always been a random interest of mine. If you want to see an extreme example of failure in this endeavor you can research Disney’s first theme park opening in France for a good example.
However, KFC is an example of perfect planning and execution to move into a new market. As early as 2016 KFC held 11.6% of the market share within China, blasting McDonald's 5.6% out of the water. This is the most recent data I could find on the subject, however, KFC has continued to grow and overtake the Chinese fast food market even in the face of the pandemic.
One reason for its continued growth in a time when food service saw its greatest challenges is its food delivery system. Within China, you can order KFC from just about anywhere and have it at your doorstep in under thirty minutes. You might expect a big price tag at the end of this delivery, yet you won’t pay more than 9 RMB (or $1.41 at the time of writing) at any given time.
Even with extensive lockdowns throughout the pandemic KFC remained open under strict health and wellness protocol and continued to deliver food to families throughout the pandemic. This among other factors continued to help them cement themselves as the premier fast-food company in China.
Although I’m a Popeyes’ supporter through and through, I do enjoy a bit of KFC within China from time to time. This is coming from someone who refused to eat it in the US for many years, so that needs to count for something in terms of their success.
As I continue to live in China I’m sure I will have more experiences with KFC, and I hope that they continue to be positive. It’s insanely interesting for me to see their growth and continued cultivation of popularity within markets outside the US, and I look forward to continuing to watch their growth.
