Kfc And Mcdonald's Case Study

Fast food is not an indigenous Chinese culture. It was first mentioned in literatures as a product of foreign society and later become part of Chinese society. It began in the late 1980s where KFC pioneered the fast-food chain by opening a store near Tiananmen Square in Beijing and few years later, McDonald’s joined the “party” in 1992. The two has become a success since then to the point that local restaurant tried to copy their recipe in order to get their customers back. A few important strategies were adopted by the two groups to attract local customers. In this essay, the system used by KFC and McDonald’s in China will be reviewed, especially regarding the language and cultural aspects surrounding them.

In the late 1980s, China was in the midst of reforming her economy. This granted easier access for foreign investor to establish their ground in the country. KFC did use the opportunity to enter the market. Their first store in Beijing is bigger than most stores in the US: It occupies 3 stories and has 500 seating capacity, which employed 150 staffs at the time. KFC marketed themselves not only as a fast food but rather a new sensation of taste that the Chinese never taste before. Locals called them as kuaican (快餐) which literally means fast food. To enter the market, they transformed their recipes to adjust with local taste buds. Menus included such as porridge, rice dishes, soy milk drinks, fried dough sticks and wraps with local sauce, not forgetting their original