The 11 herbs-based recipe is locked in the vaults of KFC's headquarters.
In 1964, Sanders sold the company with a proposal of $2 million to Jack Brown and Jack Massey.
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People always believe that to make something you need to start building it from a young age but this myth was broken by the founder of KFC. Colonel Harland Sanders founded the famous brand at the age of 62. Sanders started working several small jobs from a young age in order to make a living. When he was in his 40s, Sanders ran a restaurant in Kentucky, the United States. He had a special self-made 11 herbs recipe for fried chicken that was popular among the locals and passers-by. The dish was so popular in the region it was famously known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. The name of the company became KFC later on.
At the age of 74, Colonel Sanders met John Y Earthy, Jack Brown and Jack Massey, who were interested in buying the restaurant chain. They guaranteed Sanders that they would keep up the quality of the franchise. They likewise promised to never change the 11 herbs recipe of the chicken. It was a simple choice for Sanders.
In 1964, Sanders sold the company with a proposal of $2 million to Jack Brown and Jack Massey. The new owners of KFC accepted that Sanders’ face was perhaps the best resource for the marketing of the brand. He was appointed as the brand ambassador for the company and was also promised that he would get a lifetime salary of about $40,000 every year. Sanders died in 1980.
Brown sold KFC to Heublein, a food and beverage company, in 1971. Heublein was purchased by a tobacco firm named RJ Reynolds in 1982. Four years later, Reynolds sold KFC for $850 million to PepsiCo. The conglomerate formed a company named Yum in 1997 to enter the Food and Beverages (F&B) sector and Yum Brands became the parent company of KFC.
KFC is known for its “finger-licking good” chicken and the recipe is so secretive that it has been locked in the vaults of the company’s headquarters and even the CEO does not have access to it. The success story of KFC remains a model for the business world. The company has changed owners four times, but its secret recipe is still the same.
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first published:May 02, 2023, 14:01 IST
last updated:May 02, 2023, 14:01 IST
