1971: Kentucky Fried Chicken

August 20, 2021

By AHNZ

Today in history, 20 August, 1971, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken came to New Zealand. It was in Auckland, of course.

During the early 90s the name was shortened to KFC in reaction to the temporary notion that ‘fried’ was an unhealthy preparation method. In the last year or so I’ve noticed the branding change back to ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’ again. This has also coincided with big paper bags instead of plastic ones due to another temporary fad- plasticfobia.

“Yet on Friday 20 August 1971, when KFC officially opened its first branch at the Manukau Road exit from the Royal Oak roundabout in Auckland — thus offering New Zealanders their first local taste of branded American fast food — the Americanness of the chicken was to the fore. Full-page advertisements in the Auckland Star (Figure 1) promoted the store’s opening with a large photograph of the company’s founder, Colonel Harland B. Sanders, and promises of free balloons for children. Live music from the Southern Bend Blue Grass Band accompanied the festivities.” – If there’s not one near you now, there soon will be’ AMERICAN FAST-FOOD CHAINS COME TO NEW ZEALAND, Brailsford, New Zealand Journal of History (2005)

“In March 1991 the KFC name was officially adopted…A spokesman for the chain said that it represented its diversified menu, which was moving away from solely fried products. Kyle Craig, president of KFC US, admitted the change was an attempt to distance the chain from the unhealthy connotations of “fried”.” – Wiki (2021)

“With health-consciousness increasing, Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to eliminate the ‘F’ word. It became KFC. No longer ‘Finger-lickin’ good’, the brand line became ‘I like it like that’. ” –  australianfoodtimeline.com.au

It still seems to me a new, novel, American imported thing. Yet, 2021 will mark 50 years of Kentucky Fried Chicken in this country. Younger things than this have now been added to the McDonald’s Kiwiburger wrapper and song so perhaps KFC should be too?

Supermarkets, fast food, The Warehouse, and K-Mart, have all been replacing humans with robots at the check-outs. It’s a reaction to artificial demands for increased wages, for a Minimum Wage currently branded as “a living wage.” – Meet Your New Replacement, Son; NZB3 (2021)

“Gisborne’s KFC fans had to go elsewhere for their dinner last night as staff went on strike at 5pm. Restaurant Brands, the owner of KFC, was notified of the nationwide strike action by the Unite union yesterday morning.” – Gisborne Herald (2019)

“KFC is off the menu this weekend as hundreds of fast food workers employed by Restaurant Brands and members of Unite Union take strike action,” the union said on Friday morning. – Stuff (2019)

The most interesting thing about KFC as I write is their replacement of staff with robots. Supermarkets, Warehouse, Kmart, and McDonald’s have done the same. The pace of this change has been forced. Instead of a transmission giving workers time to adjust and re-task these sorts of displacements are being rushed due to political interference.

UNITE Union, in particular, has a reputation for destroying workplaces for workers. Directly before KFC started using robot tellers there were massive and public protests by UNITE and KFC staff outside the restaurants. They demanded wages that were not possible to meet and….the protesters did themselves out of a job entirely.

The trouble-makers were all made redundant, staff placed on zero-hour contracts, and a battery of robot tellers has been installed at most every counter. Problem solved.

Where once there were counter staff taking our orders there is now one IT guy in a van driving around his patch making sure the robots have enough paper or that their touchscreens have not become finger-licking shorted-out.

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Ref. also Meet Your New Replacement, Son; NZB3 (2021)

Image ref. Rebecca Grunwell, Gisborne Herald

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