Today I would like to talk about the article from the Economic Times I found while searching for brand image definition. It is about KFC changing its menu in India.
So when you hear of KFC, you probably think of chicken, right? Well, what KFC stands for? Kentucky Fried Chicken! So the menu there should mostly consist of chicken! But I guess not in India.
However, we should remember why KFC pursue this strategy. In India most of the society is vegetarian and it is not because of leading healthy lifestyle, this is mostly because of religion and Indian philosophy towards food, that they need to eat vegetarian items. Also, there is a huge competition from much stronger global brands like McDonald's, Pizza Hut or Subway and local chains like: Haldiram, Nirula's and Bikanerwala.
Similarly to the competition, KFC had to tailor its strategy to suit local market and consumer preferences. Turan Lal, general manager at KFC India, says that KFC had little choice, and even if the brand synonymous is with chicken, it had to adapt the menu to survive in this market .
KFC, in its history, has already gone through menu and brand image changes, so it is not a surprise it is trying to match it right now taking into consideration the predominantly vegetarian Indian market. Of course, it could keep the standard menu, but it would not get to that large audience. What is more, vegetarian food plays significant role for non-vegetarians in India. Lal says that "A non-veg user at a KFC will consume a veg item if there is a great offering in that category". However, further in the article we can find out that only one in five offerings in KFC in vegetarian, and "green" menu represents only 10 % of its revenues. Why then KFC sustains this menu ? The author of the article says that KFC faces the though task as its is mostly linked with fried chicken, but the same we can say about other brands, which are not not vegetarian - McDonald's is about burgers and Subway serves panini's. Is that sufficient to just add veg menu and dress the staff in green or using the sperate line at the counters for veg food? General manager of Indian KFC, Lal, wants to "launch a comprehensive ad campaign focused around the veg products" and he seems to be confident with that.
However, the outcome did not surprise me at all. The line for regular KCF menu was far much longer than for vegetarian food. I think the KCF case in India gives a good lesson for every brand manager: however you try to position your established product, the existing brand image may surpass your efforts.
I believe it is more important to maintain the image you have already gained that try to totally change it. Few adjustments are indispensable, however, to stay in the market but it is important to to forget where your roots are and how and why you became successful.
1 comments:
A bold move indeed, but you really have to applaud KFC on their efforts to better adjust to cultural cues and customer demand. If ever they can’t come up with full-vegetarian branches, they could at least include some vegetarian options in their menu.
Vernia Soriano
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