Do we like KFC?
Global fried chicken chain with over 34,000 restaurants, run by Yum! Brands, which is based in Louisville, Kentucky, US.
Our score: 4 out of 10. Not one we'd back with enthusiasm. It is a huge and well-run business, but it has settled a workers' rest-break case and dropped its chicken welfare pledge.
KFC is the biggest brand in Yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell. It has more than 34,000 locations, and the Yum! CEO says a new one opens internationally every three hours. Chris Turner became Yum! CEO in October 2025 and wants to speed that growth up.
In March 2026, KFC and more than 80 franchise operators agreed to pay A$28.8m to settle an Australian class action. Workers alleged they were denied legal rest breaks. It covers about 90,000 current and former staff, and the Federal Court still had to approve it.
On animals, KFC UK & Ireland said in 2019 it was the first in its sector to sign the Better Chicken Commitment. In February 2026 it was among 18 UK hospitality brands that withdrew from it. Animal groups called the replacement forum welfare-washing, a charge we're reporting, not confirming.
There are older blots too. A Sydney judge ordered KFC to pay A$8m to a girl left brain damaged after salmonella from a chicken wrap, and KFC said it would appeal. Californian prosecutors also settled with KFC over unsafe ovens for $294,000.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Yum! sold its Russian KFC business to local franchisees, and the restaurants became Rostic's. That's a point in its favour. Overall, we score it a 4: big and efficient, but with labour and welfare problems.