History Of KFC

By perfecting his own recipe and reducing the cooking time from 30 minutes to less than 10 minutes, World War II survivor and fried chicken pioneer Colonel Sanders changed the game.

He traveled throughout the United States to launch a franchise, and after getting over 10,000 rejections, he eventually made millions.

In 1890, Harlan Sanders came into this world in Henryville, Indiana, on a farm. His mother had to sew for other people and peel tomatoes in a canning plant when his father died.

Taking care of his younger siblings and doing the bulk of the cooking fell on Harlan. He was already an expert with veggies and was showing signs of improvement with meat by the time he was seven years old. He began his first job as a farmhand when he was ten years old.

But his devotion to animals led to his dismissal after just one month.

Whenever he acquired a job in the future, his mom would tell him to work harder. His stepfather was not a fan of having stepchildren, and his mother wed him when he was twelve years old.

A year later, he packed up his belongings and headed back to the farm, where he continued to tend to the animals, attend classes, and fill up the evenings with odd jobs.

After two years of farming, Harlan tried his hand at a number of occupations, including those of streetcar conductor, soldier, railroad fireman, insurance salesman, Steamboat operator, lighting maker, tire merchant, and lawyer. Finally, he settled on a career in insurance.

He had children from a previous marriage, but Josephine King eventually abandoned them.

His fortunes turned around when he took a job operating petrol stations. He was picked up by the general manager of Standard Oil, Kentucky's oil and gas division in 1924 when hitchhiking from Louisville to Winchester while job seeking.

Eventually, Harlan was able to make over $12,000 per month from selling gas by concentrating on customer service and consistently providing extras.

But when rent became too expensive during the Great Depression in the United States, Harlan sold his own equipment and left. Thankfully, in 1930, he relocated to Corbin to take advantage of an opportunity presented to him by Shell, another oil and gas firm, which requested him to operate a gas station there.

Country ham, string beans, and okra hot biscuits were Harlan's first offerings. It wasn't until he began selling fried chicken that his business really took off.

His cuisine had become so well-known by 1937 that customers traveled from all across the country to dine at his restaurant. He built a hostel and cafeteria onto his petrol station, increasing its seating capacity to 142.

Customers had to wait half an hour after making an order because Harlan found a major issue with pan-frying the chicken fast enough. Unfortunately, his attempt at deep-frying the chicken resulted in dry, crusty, and uneven meat. He cooked his veggies in the pressure cooker, a novel appliance at the time.

He perfected the art of frying chicken by experimenting with different pressures, cooking times, meat-to-fat ratios, and fat filtering methods.The first hotel and café that Colonel Harlan had in Asheville burnt down on Thanksgiving in 1939, turning his fortunes for the worse.

He left his position at the Asheville facility after WWII and found employment in several cafeterias and eateries. He opened a second eatery in Georgetown after the war and gave $300 a month in rent and 50% of the revenues to an old coworker to run it. Unfortunately, Harlan's old coworker betrayed his kindness by secretly opening the business as a partnership under his and her names.

One day in 1953, a real estate representative called Harlan and offered him sixteen hundred and four thousand dollars to buy his café and hotel. Since Harlan's hotel and café were located on a major route and received 90% of their revenue from tours, he declined the offer.

He got $75,000 at auction in 1956, which was less than half of the real estate agent's bid. At age 66, Harlan was left with nothing except his savings and a monthly Social Security cheque of $105 to get by on.

A fried chicken chain named Kentucky Fried Chicken was his latest business concept. While Pete was working for him at his restaurant, he learned from him how to prepare chicken, and his sales went up 75%.

In the time leading up to the highway, he secured a few additional franchises. He loaded up his vehicle with a few pressure cookers and a bag of spice when he decided to go down this road, searching for eateries that looked nice.

In an effort to get another franchise opportunity, he would approach the owner and propose that he prepare some chicken for the staff. He would even volunteer to remain for a few days to do so.In 1963, the number of KFC franchisees in the United States and Canada exceeded 600. Despite his comfortable financial situation, Harlan fretted about the future of his business. John Brown, a 29-year-old lawyer, was one of numerous who approached him over the years about purchasing his business.

After learning that fried chicken was Harlan's favorite subject, John consented to purchase a barbecue franchise that Harlan was about to launch. Rather, he began researching the BBQ industry and borrowed the necessary funds from a businessman called Jack Macy.

Their first bid, made in 1963, was $2,000,000—the equivalent of more than $15,000,000 today. It didn't sit well with Harlan, even though they assured him that they would treat his franchisees properly and keep quality high.While John persisted in trying to sell his firm, Harlan deliberated about the matter for length. After much internal struggle, Harlan sold his firm on January 6, 1964. A lot of individuals have overcome obstacles, and he said that every setback is a stepping stone to success.