"I've been eating at KFC the last few days, could that be a problem?" ("前几天刚吃了肯德基会有问题吗") asked one Weibo user.

The coming week could be a nightmare for KFC in China. Depending on developments in an outbreak of a new strain of avian flu called H7N9, KFC could see its business decimated by another chicken scare just months after a previous one.

KFC is not the only brand worried. Tyson chicken is already rolling out damage control.Continue reading...

Winner, winner chicken dinner. Join #TeamBoneless and you may be rewarded.

— KFC Colonel (@kfc_colonel) April 6, 2013

KFC U.S. today announced its Original Recipe Boneless menu, which it's promoting with new spots, on Facebook and with the Twitter hashtag #TeamBoneless.

As USA Today noted, "In an astonishing brand reversal, KFC is about to stake its future on a red-hot concept that might have caused Colonel Sanders, himself, to see red: boneless chicken."

More details on the move, which was three years in the making and will see more than 90 percent of KFC's menu items to eventually go bone-free, in the press release below.Continue reading...

KFC's command of American Chicken is under assault on a number of fronts. But the chain that made fast food out of chicken isn't about to give up its territory without a big fight.

This week KFC US introduced Original Recipe Bites, the chain's answer to McDonald's success with its limited-time Chicken McBites earlier this year and the Spicy Chicken McBites that the No. 1 fast-feeder is currently promoting. KFC, of course, also faces more competition from the likes of Chick-fil-A, which consumers find easy to love wherever the brand pops up.

"Only KFC could introduce big, bite-sized chicken with the famous flavor of Original Recipe," said Jason Marker, KFC's U.S CMO, venturing into tautological territory in the company's press release, predicting that the "bite-sized 100 percent breast meat chicken [will] be a hit with adults as well as kids."Continue reading...

McDonald's, facing aggressive competition by quick-serve competitors including Burger King and Wendy's, needs more to crow about. It's been a tough year for the burger giant and a tough year for many of its customers. So what's the answer? Hint: It has wings, a beak, and a penchant for hot sauce.

Its new U.S. promotion — for Spicy McChicken Bites — is part of a global trend for the hamburger chain. Chicken may be flying to the rescue of a chain that withstood the headwinds of the Great Recession in pretty good shape but whose leadership senses more storm clouds building in the global economy. For McDonald's US CEO Don Thompson, offering more menu items based on chicken, compared with beef, poses "a tremendous opportunity," he said at a recent conference for analysts.

"Some great examples include our large wrap in Europe and snack items like Chicken McBites," which McDonald's introduced in the U.S. on a "limited-time basis" last year and which proved very popular, Thompson said. "Our customers have given us permission to stretch our brand, so we are entering new categories with new products," he said at the conference, according to Bloomberg.Continue reading...