KFC UK&I has unveiled its first ever Nutrition Progress Update, which tracks the progress it has made on nutrition across its menu and aims to increase transparency for consumers and wider industry.
The Nutrition Progress Update sets out some of the key steps that KFC has taken so far on their nutrition journey. Progress includes reformulating KFC fries, which removed around thirteen billion calories a year from the menu and removing full sugar Pepsi from its menu in England, which amounted to taking around eight billion calories a year out of the menu. KFC has also been building out its popular range of 500 kcal or less options with Riceboxes, Salads and Twister Wraps.
Last year, KFC joined with youth activist movement Bite Back, whose Food Systems Accelerator Programme sees young people partnered with industry to identify, develop and deliver solutions on how to make healthy food more desirable, accessible and affordable. Through this, KFC UK&I has started its first set of behavioural intervention trials, designed to help understand what helps encourage customers towards healthier options, specifically at lunchtime.
This first Progress Update marks a key step in KFC’s ambition to be open and honest about its nutritional journey, recognising the role that KFC, as a leading UK restaurant business, has to play in helping more people have access to nutritious, good food.
The ambitions for 2025 that KFC UK&I is setting out on nutrition have been developed in partnership with academics, nutritional experts and campaign groups. As part of these ambitions, KFC will be comparing its menu items against the UK Nutrient Profiling Model 2004/2005, which is used by the government, to categorise nutritional value and define foods that are HFSS (high in fat, salt and sugar).
Working with partners, KFC UK&I has identified four pillars that will have the most impact on the nutritional value of its offer to customers: menu innovation, reformulation, partnerships, and nutritional information.
Across these pillars, KFC has worked with its partners to develop a number of 2025 ambitions, including:
- Increase the number of non-HFSS menu items to 70% of the total menu through a combination of product innovation and reformulation of current menu items.
- Develop a sales-based target for the amount of HFSS and non-HFSS menu items sold, working with external partners to shape the metrics of this target.
- Increase the percentage of menu items that meet PHE nutrient guidelines by 10%.
- Provide food education programmes in five cities for 500 young people through the KFC Youth Foundation.
- Report progress against its ambitions through an annual Nutrition Progress Update.
Meg Farren, general manager, KFC: “We know it’s our great quality, finger lickin’ chicken that means people love KFC, but we also recognise that we have an important role to play in helping more people have access to nutritious food. We have made a start, but the fact of the matter is we’re not yet where we want to be on nutrition. That’s why we’ve decided to disclose our progress and plans through our new annual Nutrition Progress Updates. While we’ll never stop providing fried chicken across our menus, behind the scenes we’re continuing work on making sure that any trip to KFC offers great quality, fresh, nutritious options, at great value for customers. By being open and transparent about the action we are taking, we hope we can bring others on this journey with us”.
Professor Richard Crisp: “Making balanced, healthy choices around what we eat is something to which we all aspire. Intervention trials that measure the efficacy of different behavioural nudges are critical – they allow us to make data-driven decisions about which approaches work well, or not so well, in any given context. KFC understands this, and their science informed/data driven approach to this endeavour will help them fine-tune the way in which they present their healthier options through multiple channels, and in so doing, enable, enhance and empower their customers’ decision-making”.
KFC will be releasing this Nutrition Progress Update annually, encouraging feedback to ensure it is meeting the expectations of its customers and stakeholders.
