KFC in India
KEF India KEF was founded by Harlan Sanders (Sanders) In the early asses, when he started cooking and serving food for hungry travelers who stopped by his service station In Carbon, Kentucky, US. He did not own a restaurant then, but served people on his own dining table in the living quarters of his service station. His chicken delicacies became popular and people started coming Just for food.
Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. Soon, Sanders moved across the street to a motel-UCM-restaurant, later named ‘Sanders Court & Cafe,’ that seated around 142 people.
The case highlights the ethical Issues Involved In Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KEF) business operations In India. KEF entered India In 1995 and has been In midst of controversies since then. The regulatory authorities found that Cuff’s chickens did not adhere to the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
Chickens contained nearly three times more monogamous glutamate (popularly known as MUGS, a flavor enhancing ingredient) as allowed by the Act. Since the late 1 sass, KEF faced severe protests by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights protection organization.
PETA accused KEF of cruelty towards chickens and released a video tape showing the Ill- treatment of birds in CIFS poultry farms. However, undeterred by the protests by PETA and other animal rights organizations, KEF planned a massive expansion program in India. Over the next nine years, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and the basic cooking technique of chicken.
Sanders’ fame grew and he was given the title Kentucky Colonel by the state Governor in 1935 for his contribution to the state’s cuisine.
Sanders’ restaurant business witnessed an unexpected halt in the early asses, when a new Interstate highway was planned bypassing the town of Carbon. His restaurant flourished mainly due to the patronage of highway travelers. The new development meant the end of this. Sanders sold his restaurant operations. After settling all his bills, he was reduced to living on a meager $105 social security queue.
But Sanders did not lose hope. Banking on the popularity of his product and confident of his unique recipe for fried chicken, Sanders started franchising his chicken business In 1952.
He called It Kentucky Fried hickey. He traveled the length and breadth of the country by car, vaulting as many restaurants as possible and cooking batches of chicken. If the restaurant owners liked his chicken, he entered into a handshake agreement that stipulated payment of a nickel for each plate of chicken sold by the restaurant.
By 1964, Sanders franchised more than 600 chicken outlets in the US and Canada. The same year, he sold his interest In his company In the US for $2 million to a group of Investors.
However, he remained the public spokesperson for the company, KEF grew rapidly under the new winners and issued shares to the public on March 17, 1966. In July 1971, KEF was acquired by Hubble Inc. For $285 million. By then, KEF had over 3,500 franchised and company-owned restaurants in the world.
“Each bird whom KEF puts into a box or a bucket had a miserable life and a frightening death. People would be shocked to see our footage of a KEF supplier’s employee who walks through a barn, carelessly lighting lamps and letting flames fall on the terrified birds.
The alarm Inside these filthy with a grain of compassion should set foot in KEF. – Ingrain Newsier, Director, PETA. Protests against KEF On August 20, 2003, a five-foot tall chicken complete with an ensemble of feathers and beak hobbled on a pair of crutches outside Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KEF) Indian outlet in Bangor. The chicken was brought by PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) activists, who carried placards reading, “Quit India” and “Stop Playing Fowl” (a pun on “Foul”).
The chicken was placed at the centre and a peaceful protest was held against the alleged ill treatment of birds in Cuff’s poultry farms.
Media errors were called to give the demonstration a wide coverage. Explaining the rationale behind the protest, Bill Bacchanalian, special projects coordinator of PETA, said, “Ours is the land of Gandhi. Just as 61 years back our leaders gave a call for colonizers to quit India, we too are saying we will not tolerate cruel multinationals. ” On the 61st anniversary of the ‘Quit India’ movement, PETA India wrote a letter to the Managing Director of Triton Restaurant International, the parent company of KEF, asking them to close their sole KEF outlet in India. They got no reply.
PETA activists decided to protest against KEF by carrying crippled chicken, which represented the birds suffering in the Cuff’s farms. PETA claimed that after two years of intensive campaigning to increase animal welfare standards in poultry farms, other foreign fast food restaurants operating in India like McDonald’s and Burger King had improved the treatment of animals specially raised and slaughtered for food. Only KEF had not acted. Though PETA had organized other protests earlier, the crippled chicken campaign became the precursor for more intensive protests.
Petal’s was one of the many shows of protest against Cuff’s Indian outlet.
Objectives Understand the significance of cultural, economic, regulatory and ecological issues while establishing business in a foreign country. Appreciate the need for protecting animal rights in developed and developing countries like India. Understand the importance of ethics in doing business. Examine the reasons for protests of PETA Identify solutions for Cuff’s problems in India. Analysis There are a number of issues relating to this incident that demonstrate the ethical ND moral issues surrounding business.
Cuff’s business in India leads too wide range of direct and indirect employment related to the business as a result of the investment by the company. KEF claims that it does not own chicken the farms. How honest are the claims that KEF is making? How reliable are the claims made by those who oppose Cuff’s activities? What conflicts arise between the responsibilities that KEF has to the treatment of chickens and the local community, and to its shareholders, suppliers and employees, other external stakeholders?
