Posted on: Thursday, April 29, 2004

At Kentucky Fried Chicken you can now skip the 'fried'

By Bruce Horovitz
USA Today

A nutritional frenzy that in many minds equates frying with dying is prompting chicken kingpin KFC to change its ways after 50 years.

On Tuesday, the chicken giant will unveil plans to sell oven-roasted chicken in boneless strips, in wraps and soon in entree salads. KFC even plans to add some better-for-you side dishes, including green beans with diced red peppers.

Not to fret: All of KFC's famous fried items will remain. But the company's focus in the next several months will be to spread the word about all things roasted. The new menu hits stores May 10.

Pressed by falling sales and consumer health demands, KFC has company in lightening up: McDonald's sells entree salads with Newman's Own dressing, and Burger King sells burgers with lettuce acting as the bun.

The change also follows a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission about now-dropped KFC ads that trumpeted the high-protein, low-carb qualities of its fried chicken — while fine print warned it's not, however, low in fat, cholesterol or sodium.

And it comes years after KFC tried but failed to sell Colonel's Rotisserie Gold chicken when the roasters kept breaking down.

No roasters this time. The chicken — deboned this go-round — will be cooked in the same ovens in which KFC bakes its biscuits.

Can KFC, the king of all things fried, convince a public increasingly focused on healthy diets that it also makes roast chicken that's "finger lickin' good"?

"KFC has spent 50 years instructing the public that they're all about fried," says Allan Hickok, of Hickok McMillan Strategic Advisors. "Does this give them license to sell roasted chicken? No."

Don't tell that to KFC. "KFC isn't coming out of left field," says Scott Bergren, marketing chief. "Our food evolution is a steady part of a bigger picture. Our goal is to redefine our brand and make it more relevant."

Particularly to women. "We now have lunch and dinner options for everyone," says Gregg Dedrick, KFC's new president. Dedrick is eager to adjust KFC's image. Its same-store sales were down 2 percent in the first quarter compared with the same 2003 period.

To broaden KFC's image beyond fried foods, new ads will dub KFC Chicken Capital USA.

But KFC still will hype its traditional favorites. One ad stars NASCAR racing star Dale Earnhardt Jr., joking, "The only carb I care about is under my hood."