How the Colonel took over a country

I once made the mistake of asking a friend to meet me at “the KFC in Xujiahui.” Little did I know, there are approximately half a dozen KFCs in that neighborhood and I ended up waiting in the wrong KFC for ages.

We have Warren K. Liu to thank for the chicken chain's wild proliferation across Xujiahui, and indeed all of China. The author of the new book KFC in China: Secret Recipe for Success was Vice President of Business Development for Tricon (now Yum Brands, KFC’s owner) from 1997 to 2001. Liu's book lays out KFC’s expansion strategy in which the company grew from a single shop in 1987, located by Beijing's Tiananmen Square, into the country's biggest restaurant chain.

Since leaving KFC, Liu has focused on his other passion–teaching. I recently asked him to educate me on a few KFC secrets. According to Liu, much of KFC's early success was thanks to the leadership of a “Taiwan Gang” of executive experts who understood both highly-evolved Western business practices and China's culture and language.

Now, as the company has expanded, KFC rigorously develops local talent. In fact, today “80 percent of KFC restaurant managers in China are [local] college graduates,” as KFC, like most multi-national companies, increasingly shifts to a local management model. "Unlike in early years when senior executives were largely expatriate ethnic Chinese from Taiwan and other parts of Asia due to an extreme shortage of fast food industry-experienced local talents, today, KFC China has an abundance of able and experienced local talents," said Liu.

I also asked Liu about the infamously difficult search for a local potato supplier who could provide spuds which conformed to KFC's strict standards. Liu said, “the French fry was indeed one of the more challenging ingredients to source in China in those days. Due to [differing] soil conditions (moisture, for example), temperature, climate, and other factors attributable to nature, even the same potato seed grown in North America and China can, and does, turn out to have different taste and texture.” KFC ingredients are sourced in China as much as possible. “Sourcing localization was one of [KFC's] priorities," he said. "In fact, local content already accounted for as much as 97 percent in purchase value dating back to the late 1990's.”

I asked Liu if he believes KFC holds any responsibility for China’s growing obesity problem. He replied, “In my opinion, obesity reflects a society's rising consumer income, growing variety of choices for food and drink, and careless selections by some consumers.” We all bear “primary responsibility for looking after our own health," he said. "Take me, for instance. I like KFC's deep-fried chicken products, but I only consume them a few times a year. Why? Because I believe I am responsible for my own health by carefully selecting a balanced diet every meal, every day.”

When he does indulge, Liu knows what to look for: he says he always picks a very busy KFC branch, and keeps an eye on exactly when the chicken parts come up out of the oil. He then makes his way in haste to the front of the line to grab them hot. This way, he said, you’re “more likely to enjoy fried chicken fresh out of the fryer, which is juicier and tastier than those which have been kept warm.”

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