No bones about it says KFC

Is it goodbye to a bucket of chicken on the bone at KFC?

The company has launched a new product and ad campaign promoting its boneless chicken.

The ‘I Ate the Bones’ campaign started on Sunday with KFC including the boneless white meat chicken breasts in its buckets of chicken. 

Commercials show panic stricken customers polishing off a piece of chicken and exclaiming “I ate the Bones!”

The move towards boneless chicken would be the equivalent of McDonald’s ditching the Big Mac or Burger King taking The Whopper off its menus.

But the company is fighting back to reclaim lost market share across the US and globe as younger people are looking for healthier food options. 

John Cywinski, president of KFC in the US, told Time magazine: “This is precisely what Colonel Sanders would’ve done. We’re very proud of our heritage. But we also recognize trends, and we pay a lot of attention to consumer insight. It would be irresponsible on our part not to address this growing demand for great tasting products off the bone.”

Graham Redford, one of the directors of KFC Bermuda, told the Bermuda Sun “The boneless breast hasn’t been released outside the US yet, so Bermuda doesn’t have access to the product yet.”

KFC Bermuda introduced OR (Original Recipe) Bites on March 15. The new menu item allowed customers to purchase the traditional chicken on the bone flavour in bite-sized portions. 

At that time KFC Bermuda’s Basil Outerbridge said: “The best things evolve over time so that we can always live in the moment. We have taken the delicious classic Colonel Sanders’ original recipe and applied it to a more convenient meal to fit the life of younger crowds.”

A KFC report suggested that this menu item would attract a younger demographic. 

Mr Redford said this is an all-white breast meat product, which is a smaller portion size than the boneless breast.

“It’s been selling very well.

“That’s all that has been released for international use as of yet. I am going to be heading to Florida next week. I’m hoping to have an update when that might be available for our market.”

Mr Redford said KFC’s main product has always been a bucket of chicken but consumers in this day are looking for healthier alternatives.

“The chicken on the bone has always been the mainstay for KFC, but everything they are trying to do now is capture different segments of the market. There are a lot more snackable options. They have released all kinds of twisters and rollers and other fun things which are targeted toward a younger demographic; people who are trying to eat a little faster and on-the-go, but also want a healthy product. 

“All the KFC products are now cooked in zero trans fats so they are trying to be more health conscious wherever they can.”

He said it normally takes three to six months for a new food item to be rolled out in Bermuda after it is introduced in the States.

“They typically roll it out in the Caribbean after the US and we get it after that.”

Mr Redford said the new ads are “clever. I do like the panic attack. From a professional opinion, I probably would have preferred them to concentrate on the product rather than at the end of the commercial.”