KFC UK is the latest of our Surrey Success Stories, a collection of video case studies of businesses โ large and small โ that are putting our region on the map. Click on the video below to discover why Surrey is a great place for this international brand to have its UK base .
KFC UK: an iconic brand with an iconic founder
It’s an iconic global brand with a founder as famous as its food. But how many of you knew that Colonel Sanders’ fried chicken legacy is rooted in Surrey as well as Kentucky?
It’s nearly a century since the white suited Sanders first started serving his fried chicken in a roadside motel in the United States. The taste is now exported round the world, including the UK.
Kentucky Fried Chicken – known better as KFC – opened its first UK restaurant in Preston, Lancashire in the 1960s.
And the UK operation has never looked back. Currently there are more than 1,000 branches in the UK. And its parent company KFC UK has an annual turnover of close to ยฃ300 million.
This major operation is all coordinated from a UK headquarters in the heart of the Surrey town of Woking.
KFC’s secret to success
So how has a company founded in the southern US state of Kentucky come to be so popular?
Well, the food is pretty good – with the unique blend of 11 herbs and spices still very much a top level secret.
The company is also committed to being bold and innovative.
Jo Tivers, Head of Food and Quality, said: “I love working in the fast food industry. As the name suggests, it’s really, really fast. We can be really innovative, we can try new things. We have a customer base that is really interested in trying new things.”
The company is also big on investing in its people – with culture being a real focus. It claims to be “people first culture, really heart-led” – with a real focus on supporting and championing young people, especially with their first jobs.
As Hema Ladwa, People Experience Lead, explains: “We really believe that everyone has the potential, we just need to feed that potential, whether it’s feeding them chicken or whether it’s feeding them through their knowledge and through their learning and development.”
This commitment inspires loyalty and nurtures talent, for now and into the future.
KFC UK and Surrey
KFC UK has had its restaurant support centre in Woking for more than 25 years. About 350 people are based there, with location being a major plus point – for business and for pleasure.
With direct train links to London taking 30 minutes and the M25 and two major airports a short drive away, connectivity couldn’t be better.
Jenny Packwood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, said: “Not only do we have great proximity to London, the trains are really quick in and out to London for people who live there. And because we’re international, the proximity to Heathrow and Gatwick is also really helpful.”
Woking is also a fantastic place for people to be live, continually being ranked among the best places in the UK to reside.
There’s culture, countryside, shopping, great food and drink plus access to a range of recreational facilities.
Jo Tivers, Head of Food and Quality, said: “It’s great to be able to go into the weekend, enjoy lunch out with the family, take them to the theatre, to the cinema. There’s always something incredible to do.”
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