Who Moved My Chicken?
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I was there when it happened. Sure, we’ve had COVID and wars since then, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
In February 2018, Kentucky Fried Chicken ran out of chicken in the UK. Long story short, they changed from a tried and tested food logistics company (Bidvest) to DHL.
Bidvest had used six distribution centres. DHL allegedly tried to run the entire operation from one depot in Rugby.
Within days, KFC restaurants were running out of chicken, and more than 600 locations had to close.
I’ve seen this kind of thing happen in meetings, where someone says, ‘…our current supplier is 3x more expensive, maybe we should switch to these guys who are far cheaper, and my mate has been using them for 7 yrs with no issues’.
The British public were not happy with this. They really love their fried chicken. They made their voices be heard.
The UK Police had to remind people that calling the police to complain about KFC was a misuse of emergency numbers. They made it very clear that fast-food shortages or missing takeaway orders are not police matters. Credit to the Police though, they were sympathetic to the cause, and acknowledged the people’s pain and despair. I’m guessing Police love their chicken too.
It didn’t stop there. People sent letters of complaint to their local members of Parliament.
Luke Pollard, an MP for constituents in south England, tweeted: "Have had my first person get in touch to ask what's happening with #KFC . . . and the answer is, I don't know (yet)."
The hashtag #KFCcrisis started trending. This was a serious escalation.
And how did KFC respond?
They issued the “FCK” apology. The advert showed a KFC bucket with FCK on the front. It ran as a full-page ad in The Sun and Metro.
KFC also brought back their previous supplier, Bidvest, to supply around 350 restaurants, while DHL continued supplying the rest.
Normal service resumed.