KFC, known until 1991 as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is an American fast food chain specializing in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's second largest restaurant chain (by sales) after McDonald's, with nearly 20,000 locations worldwide in 123 countries and territories as of December 2015. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayKFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken at his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchise concept and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by bringing questioning the established dominance of the hamburger. Calling himself "Colonel Sanders", Harland became a prominent figure in American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. However, the company's rapid expansion overwhelmed the aging Sanders, and he sold it to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey in 1964. KFC was one of the first American fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica in the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the company experienced mixed fortunes nationally, as it went through a series of ownership changes with little to no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, KFC was sold to liquor distributor Heublein, which was taken over by food and tobacco conglomerate RJ Reynolds; this company sold the channel to PepsiCo. The chain continued to expand overseas, however, and in 1987 it became the first Western restaurant chain to open in China. Since then, the company has rapidly expanded into China, which is now the company's largest market. PepsiCo spun off its restaurant division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum! Brands.Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers.Get a personalized essayThe original KFC product is pressure-fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders recipe made with 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard "bucket", which has become a well-known feature of the chain since its introduction by franchisee Pete Harman in 1957. Since the early 1990s, KFC has expanded its menu to offer other chicken products such as burgers and chicken fillet wraps, as well as salads and side dishes, such as fries and coleslaw, desserts and soft drinks, these the latter often being supplied by PepsiCo. KFC is known for its slogans "Finger-Lickin' Good", "Nobody Makes Chicken Like KFC" and "So Good".