What I really liked about the "Curry Crunch" launched by KFC – to quote them, a bone in product, i.e. mainstream entree – was that the launch pictured above was in Jamaica. The theme for the launch event was Indian yet interestingly enough, the product, the first innovation in this area in a decade, was developed in Malaysia.
Here is an interesting case of local taste adaption by a multinational fast food brand which is then launched in other similar markets without the product variation ever coming back to the domestic market. So unlike say the McAloo Tikki type variations in India by Mcdonalds, these kind of local flavors can cross geographic boundaries where cultural preferences may be similar enough. Though who’s to say a McAloo Tikki won’t be successful in the US?
Perspective by Niti Bhan 
Ok, so I read this and thought: that looks really good, i want some of the colonel’s curry crunch chicken.
Then I looked over at my girlfriend and said: “guess what KFC has in India now?”
Instead of the “what?” I expected to get from her, she said: “crunchy curry chicken?” I looked back at her all hurt cause she just pulled the rug out from beneath me.
Then she said something profoundly obvious: “Duh! Its India!”
Exactly.
Except this launch is in Jamaica, not India. I’ll try to find out, but I don’t think KFC is doing very much in India.
Wow, Jamaica..But in the article, Enya’s music seems to be a bit misplaced, don’t you think? Hee, I remember the Curry Crunch Chicken! It was released here in Singapore, about 8 months ago.
It was zesty & pretty spicy, althought sadly, Niblettes, not in wholesome curry-ness, but more in a chemical-curry-snack way. I remembered, it was also lightly sprinkled with chopped curry leaves, which strangely enough was crispy. I was disappointed when I realised those tiny pieces of vegetation were the only true authentic “curry” ingredient in the mix. 😦 The presentation was pretty cute though. The cardboard serving tray was printed as a banana leaf. 🙂
Currently, KFC is pushing the Original Recipe Chicken Chop, which is a boneless cut of crispy fried chicken *wow, you don’t say*, drenched in mushroom gravy, and served with raisin coleslaw & crinklecut fries. My friends & I found this very amusing, as we can recall the days when KFC was a much pricier dine-in restaurant, so the hawkercentres gave into the demands of local tastebuds and borrowed the concept, offering a similar looking & tasting, but cheaper alternative to the Colonel’s chicken, fries, bun & coleslaw.
Now, KFC is re-borrowing the concept from their low level competitors, right down to the crinklecut fries! In Singapore, the Crinklecut, for unknown reasons, has always been inferior to the Shoestring and Crisscut. So the decision to go with Crinklecut only makes it much more obvious, where they got the idea from.
I’ve yet to try it, but I’ve been warned to stay away by those who have tried it. Turns out, the hawkercentres does it better LOL. Anyway to see the OR Chicken Chop go here> http://www.kfc.com.sg
Hilmir, thanks for sharing such a fascinating story from Singapore! Can’t wait till I come home again this winter…for the hawker food of course!
It is true that globalization brings a vast difference in the quality of KFC products. However the KFC store in Mumbai ,Bandra is practically a disrepute to the wide selling international delicacy. Globalisation of a product should mean that it sticks to global quality.