FACE-OFF : UNNAT VARMA

"Real estate cost is a serious issue"

Posted: Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008 at 0205 hrs IST
Updated: Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008 at 0205 hrs IST

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‘People still prefer piracy to paying for world ci...

: global experiences across categories—whether it is their clothes or food. We ensure we provide that global experience to our customers in India. We are building a brand that offers the same international taste and quality of food that it offers in all markets globally. Adapting to any local market is important, but keeping the originality of the brand is essential. We want the Indian consumer to try our unique proprietary chicken, burgers, meals and side orders that make us what we are. Therefore, our strategy in mid-term will be to maintain global experience in terms of our food and the look and feel of our restaurants.

We do understand that localisation is important and sometimes critical for success. We, therefore, have a menu that is part localised and we will stay with it for the next few years before we evaluate the launch of unique and differentiated local offerings in a big way. Some of our localised offerings unique to India include vegetarian offerings like KFC Veggie Snacker and KFC rice meal. We plan to maintain an international edge even with these localised offerings.

KFC has made many changes in its menu and communications since the time it opened shop in India in 1995. Could you enumerate the changes and how it has helped the brand restart the journey on a clean slate?

KFC’s initial stint in 1995 featured a limited range of products and absence of a strong value proposition. Since then the brand has had a metamorphosis and today we have more than doubled our offerings: we only serve 100% whole muscle real chicken prepared fresh several times a day just like fresh food prepared at home. This delivers on our single most important proposition of ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ food. Also we have more vegetarian options today and have products targeted at specific customer groups. For example, the Snack Box is a mid-day snack for youngsters and Zing Kong box is a complete meal in itself for executives on the go. We have improved the overall value perception of the brand by offering an entire gamut starting from low-priced snacks to wow-priced individual and group meals.Our communication has also undergone a change over the years. Our communication was earlier limited to print and outdoor advertising that limited effective communication of our ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ proposition. Which is why audio-visual communication became an imperative. KFC launched a TVC for the first...

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