According to a recent press release, KFC wants to become a "restaurant of the future" by "crafting the 'meat of the future,'" with help from a Russian company called 3D Bioprinting Solutions. This initiative, "arose among partners in response to the growing popularity of a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, the annual increase in demand for alternatives to traditional meat and the need to develop more environmentally friendly methods of food production."

If all goes to plan — which is definitely a thing that happens in the Hell Year 2020 — KFC will begin to sell the world's first lab-grown chicken nuggets in Moscow in the fall.

These lab-grown nuggies will of course still feature the same blend of 11 spices and herbs that made them famous, while combining chicken cells with plant material, "allowing it to reproduce the taste and texture of chicken meat almost without involving animals in the process." It's not clear if they'll be vegan friendly, or if they're meant to vaguely compete with fully plant-based meats like the Beyond or Impossible Burger.

The press releases — shared verbatim across companies — includes some thoughts on the project's environmental sustainability as well:

Biomeat has exactly the same microelements as the original product, while excluding various additives that are used in traditional farming and animal husbandry, creating a cleaner final product. Cell-based meat products are also more ethical – the production process does not cause any harm to animals. Along with that, KFC remains committed to continuous improvement in animal welfare from the farm and through all aspects of our supply chain, including raising, handling, transportation and processing.

KFC closed its restaurants to all but drive-through customers and deliveries days ago. According to this video, however, the company is quietly ordering managers to keep lobbies open to serve walk-in takeout customers.

I've come up with this plan to protect my employees because they're trying to force us to open the lobby again.

Looks like we're already at the point where companies are testing the ability of government to enforce crisis measures. Read the rest

KFC started running this TV and online ad in Australia a few weeks ago, but they're now apologizing.

The ad shows a young woman adjusting her shorts and breasts while checking out her reflection in a car window, until the window rolls down and reveals two young shocked boys staring at her with their mouths open, along with a disapproving mom. After a few moments of silence, the young woman says, "Did someone say KFC?" Then we cut to her enjoying KFC's Zinger Popcorn Box with a bunch of friends.

The KFC ad was criticized by The Collective Shout, a group based in Australia. Spokeswoman Melinda Liszewski said: “Ads like this reinforce the false idea that we can’t expect better from boys. It is another manifestation of the "boys will be boys" trope, hampering our ability to challenge sexist ideas which contribute to harmful behavior towards women and girls...The research is solid: attitudes shape behavior. A growing number of reports show how reinforcing of gender stereotypes – including in advertising – contributes to a lesser view of women, resulting in their mistreatment.”

To which KFC responded: “We apologize if anyone was offended by our latest commercial. Our intention was not to stereotype women and young boys in a negative light.”

Source: The Guardian

Read the rest

I remember the urban legend of rats from my youth.

Engadget shares this nugget:

Plant-based meat substitutes may soon be an option for fast food chicken. CNBC reports that KFC will start testing Beyond Fried Chicken at an Atlanta restaurant on August 27th. Yes, you could grab a bucket of chicken without feeling quite so guilty -- or greasy, if Beyond Meat's earlier work is any indication. Whether or not availability grows will depend on feedback, but other restaurant chains (such as Del Taco) have seen upticks in demand since adding meat substitutes.

KFC had acknowledged talking to suppliers months ago to investigate meatless chicken, but didn't have any definitive plans until now.

The new Colonel Sanders is RoboCop? I'm not even going to pretend to understand what is going on at KFC HQ but this is really happening.

The campaign starts with a mockumentary video. Something about the Colonel's Secret Recipe needing better protection. Of course, that's where RoboCop comes in. He's been reprogrammed with a new prime directive to protect those precious 11 herbs and spices. It ends with RoboSanders walking the digital recipe in a briefcase to Stockholm's Bahnhof Data Center, a real underground storage bunker "built to survive Armageddon." Apparently, the Secret Recipe is actually being stored there.

"FauxBoCop," as Britt Hayes of AV Club perfectly dubbed him, also appears in two ads. The first one is called "Hungry Boy":

If you're wondering, yes, FauxBoCop is really voiced by the original RoboCop, Peter Weller, according to /Film:

I haven’t been able to confirm if it’s actually the 71-year-old actor wearing the suit in these commercials. I called his agents and confirmed that he was involved in this campaign, but when I specifically asked if Weller was wearing the suit, his agent told me “We have no comment on that.” Uh, okay then? I guess they really want to keep the mystery alive of whether their client got suited up or if he’s just lending his voice and a double is doing all of the physical stuff. Cool.

The second is called "Secret Recipe" and Carrie Brownstein, is that you?

(AV Club) Read the rest

A magazine named after something kids shouldn't eat REALLY hates on a sandwich.

Paste:

And then you see something like KFC’s new Cheeto Sandwich, and you remember how it feels to take one look at a promotional image and feel the tiniest bit of vomit rising in the back of your throat.

Good god, KFC. What hath science wrought on this one?

My home has a fireplace and before the oppressive smoke of wildfires ruined the joy of lighting it, I used to start a fire once in a while during the colder months. Firewood isn't readily available here in the Bay Area, so I would often have to resort to the use of firelogs since they were easily obtained in the barbeque section of my local grocery store. This lead to a conversation with a friend of mine who assured me, "There's no shame in the chemical flame."

Well, KFC's latest promotional item, the 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog from Enviro-Log®, puts the shame back into the chemical flame. Yup, it's a chemically-engineered firelog that emits the scent of their fried chicken.

Imbued with the unmistakable, mouth-watering aroma of Colonel Sanders’ secret recipe, the KFC 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog finally puts to rest the age-old dilemma, “How can I make this fire a hundred bajillion times better?” This one-of-a-kind firelog from Enviro-Log, a leading manufacturer of firelogs made of 100 percent recycled materials, is the result of countless hours of research and development, all done over the last couple of months since we had this idea. Pick up a firelog today, and you’ll be wondering how you were ever able to enjoy a fire that didn’t smell like fried chicken.

This fried chicken firelog was available for $18.99 but has since sold out.

Image via The Daily Meal

(Geekologie, The Daily Meal) Read the rest

DHL has been shipping and losing packages for close to 50 years. Read the rest

I love gravy on chicken and potatoes, but in my cocktail? Not so sure, but I guess I'd try it. KFC's new marketing ploy is all about the gravy – and how it fits in behind the bar, offering us a few gravy cocktail recipes. This video shows us how to mix up a mean Gravy Mary. Yum? Read the rest

This is insane. RELEASE THE BIRDS!

KFC has given us a lot of really odd advertising, but this really something. Read the rest

Back when KFC used to be Kentucky Fried Chicken there were rumors floating around that some hungry customer bit into what they thought was a piece of chicken  only to find a juicy fried rat underneath the golden crust. The sensational story was eventually debunked by Snopes, but that didn't stop new rumors from flaring up, including one of the most recent stories spread by three different companies in China, who claimed on social media that KFC's mutant chickens had 6 wings and 8 legs.  Today KFC filed a lawsuit against these companies, demanding $242,000 and an apology. Read the rest