Colonel Sanders KFC History: Why He Called the Chicken ‘Wallpaper Paste’

Colonel Sanders KFC History: Why He Called the Chicken ‘Wallpaper Paste’

Colonel Sanders KFC history is a complex tale of drama, lawsuits, and legal battles. He sold the brand but fought for the chicken, leading to a $1M settlement and a complicated gravy feud.
Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), was a well-known face of the fast food brand. He sold KFC and its over 600 franchises to investors in 1964 for $2 million. After KFC was sold to food company Heublein in 1971, Sanders became vocal about changes to the food, comparing it to wallpaper paste and even attacking the chicken. Heublein executives didn't give Sanders the boot, but they did say his original gravy recipe was too complicated, time-consuming, and expensive.

Sanders also started planning to franchise a restaurant he and his wife launched in Shelbyville, Kentucky, called The Colonel's Lady. Heublein filed suit, contending that it owned the rights to his name. Sanders countered, claiming that KFC was wrongly using his image to promote products he didn't create. The parties settled in 1975, with Sanders getting $1 million and remaining a brand representative. The franchise plans were dropped, and the Kentucky restaurant was allowed to remain open, renamed Claudia Sanders Dinner House.

Kentucky Fried Chicken was sold to R.J. Reynolds two years after Sanders' death in 1982. PepsiCo acquired it in 1986, then spun it off into Yum! Brands in 1997. With more than 30,000 KFC restaurants in 150 countries, Sanders' smiling face still beams from the logo at each one of them.

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Jenny, the tech wiz behind Jenny's Online Blog, loves diving deep into the latest technology trends, uncovering hidden gems in the gaming world, and analyzing the newest movies. When she's not glued to her screen, you might find her tinkering with gadgets or obsessing over the latest sci-fi release.
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