Current track

Title

Artist

Current show

Jason Madden

1:00 pm 4:00 pm

Current show

Jason Madden

1:00 pm 4:00 pm

Background

KFC ditches healthier foods because ‘nobody buys them’

Written by on 13/09/2019

KFC has abandoned its drive to introduce healthier baked chicken products on its menu because nobody wanted to eat them.

A senior executive at the fast food chain revealed the move was a “disaster” and short-lived during a Public Health England conference.

It followed disappointing sales of the Brazer grilled chicken sandwich launched in 2011, its 2012 Rancher sandwich and a pulled chicken product which came out in 2015.

“It didn’t go brilliantly well. We tried and we failed to launch a non-fried product,” said Jenny Packwood, head of brand engagement at KFC UK and Ireland.

“We were unable to sustain sales. They were just not selling.

“It’s no good launching a product which looks good nutritionally but then nobody buys.

“It doesn’t improve the health of the nation and in terms of sustainability it is a disaster.”

She also reportedly said the firm got “a lot of grief” about its healthier, thick-cut chips.

However, its healthy rice box range, containing a single piece of fried chicken and salad, had been more successful.

“It’s giving people a little bit of what they love but wrapping it in something healthier,” she said.

In June, KFC trialled a vegan burger consisting of a Quorn fillet called The Imposter “that the Colonel would be proud of” at restaurants in London, Bristol, Birmingham and the Black Country.

And in July a new vegetarian creation was introduced called the Southern Fritter Stacker.

Neither of the products appear on the menu on the company’s UK website.

However, there is a Veggie Ricebox, described as “light, filling and delicious”.

(c) Sky News 2019: KFC ditches healthier foods because ‘nobody buys them’