An Indiana man lost his father at 5, dropped out of school in 7th grade, and was forced to sell his restaurant at 65, today his brand operates 30,000+ outlets in 150 countries

The story of one of the world's most iconic fast food chains began with a friendship. In the early 1950s, Harland Sanders of Corbin, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City restaurateur Pete Harman met at a restaurant convention in Chicago. At the time, each ran a small cafe carrying his own name. Sanders later visited Harman in Salt Lake City, and hence Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC was first franchised at the Harman Café. Today, the cafe operates as the "World’s First KFC", with a statue of Colonel Sanders and Harman in front of it.

No looking back

After the first franchise, there was no looking back for Colonel Sanders' "finger-lickin' good" fried chicken recipe. After enjoying growth in the US over the coming years, KFC opened its first overseas outlet in the 1960s in London, England. In the years that followed, KFC was operational in hundreds of locations, including franchises in Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Mexico, and Jamaica.


In 1964, Sanders sold the company for $2 million along with a salary for public appearances. He died at the age of 90 years in 1980, but remains the company's public face till date thanks to its iconic and globally-recognized logo.

During that time period, KFC's ownership changed several times, and it was acquired by PepsiCo in 1986.

International boom

A turning point came when KFC opened its first Japan outlet in Nagoya city in 1970, launching the landmark "Kentucky for Christmas" campaign in 1974, with party buckets following soon after. Eating KFC meals on Christmas Eve has since become an annual national tradition in the Asian island nation. KFC launched in India with a store in Bengaluru in 1995.

China proved to be another huge market for KFC. By 2007, Yum! Brands, which operates KFC and several other major food brands, was opening about one restaurant every day in the country. And by 2018, China had over 5,600 KFC outlets, more than the US, raking in almost $5 billion a year, according to a CNBC report.

According to KFC's official website, it has the "widest global footprint of any quick-service restaurant brand", with more than 30,000 restaurants in as many as 150 countries. The company also describes itself as one of the fastest-growing retail brands.

Struggles on home turf

Despite the massive international growth, KFC has struggled on its home turf. The United States is now KFC’s third-largest market after China and Europe. In fact, KFC has shut down dozens of its stores in the US over the last couple of years.

In February last year, KFC’s US headquarters moved from Louisville to Plano, Texas, with Yum Brands’ chief executive officer (CEO) saying at the time that the changes positioned the company for sustainable growth.

Fun Fact: Harland Sanders was not a colonel in the US military. Ruby Laffoon, the then governor of Kentucky (who served between 1931 and 1935), named him an honorary “Kentucky Colonel” in 1935 for his contributions to the state's cuisine.