STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 5, 2019
KFC China has made headlines after it honored a Chinese Communist party hero, Lei Feng, with a restaurant designed to pay tribute to his life and actions. An Associated Press story in the Seattle Times said China's official news agency Xinhua reported that the chicken chain opened its first "Lei Feng Spirit" restaurant in the former soldier's home province of Hunan this week on his national day of remembrance in China.
Former Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, first honored Lei Feng with the special day celebrating party unity and public service. The KFC restaurant honoring him in Hunan's capital city of Changsha bears Lei's writings and image.
Xinhua also reported that KFC China is promoting "the Lei Feng spirit in its over 250 outlets in the province and encourage its staff to learn from the role model," according to the Associated Press. Lei Feng's annual day of tribute was revived more than 10 years ago to engender Communist party support, the story said.
Lei Feng day is marked annually by acts of public service. In China, KFC has been operated by Yum China since 2016.
Also from Yum China comes news that it has opened a 27,000-square-foot Innovation Center in downtown Shanghai. The integrated research and development facility was designed to help the company develop and quickly implement new ideas and concepts, a news release said.
The facility features a test kitchen, a sensory test area, as well as a suite of labs covering quality assurance, equipment and restaurant technology testing, packaging innovation, new store model prototypes and content production.
"The establishment of the Innovation Center is testament to our commitment and vision to become the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry," Yum China CEO Joey Wat said in the release. "Through creating an integrated hub, we look forward to continuing to explore innovative ways to drive growth, deliver value, and enhance every aspect of the customer experience."
From KFC's Okinawa sea-salt ice-cream to Pizza Hut's durian pizza, Yum China launches an average of more than 300 products annually across all of its brands. The Innovation Center will improve the ability of core functions across Yum China and its brands, partners and industry to work together, according to the release.
