Woman’s viral tweet helps KFC revamp ‘famously soggy’ fries
Thicker, rustic fries with the skins left on will replace the old chips - and now a woman's tweet is helping them spread the word
KFC has changed its fries recipe after customers complained they were terrible - and now a woman's viral tweet is helping the chicken chain spread the word.
Four years ago, Charlie Burness went to KFC for her mother's birthday but afterwards the family agreed the restaurant's chips had let them down.
So she decided to vent on Twitter, she tells .
Now, the four-year-old dig at KFC has helped to bring an updated chips recipe to the UK.
Last month, the fast food chain got in touch with Charlie to ask if they could pay Twitter to promote her tweet.
It was planning to change the recipe of its chips to now sell thicker, rustic fries with the skins left on - and they saw her tweet as a chance to reveal why.
Since then, the tweet has grabbed the attention from thousands of KFC fans across the UK.
"I thought it was quite clever actually," Charlie told the BBC.
"Everyone knows [KFC's] got a reputation for not delivering on the fries.
"They're kind of soggy, like they've been preheated as soon as you get them," Charlie said.
KFC said it changed its recipe after diners hit out at its "crap" fries on social media.
It has been testing out its new rustic chips on the public for more than a year.
They apparently proved so popular that KFC will now replace its old fries with the thicker-cut version.
Usually customers complain when a major food brand tweaks a recipe - but diners may actually welcome this change.
Finger Lickin' Facts About KFC
HERE's what your need to know about the chain:
- KFC’s chicken on the bone comes from farms in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There’s over 500 of them, and every single one is Red Tractor assured.
- There’s only one secret KFC won’t share and that’s Colonel Sanders’ Secret Recipe. The blend of herbs and spices is a secret that only a few people in the world know. The 11 herbs and spices are sourced from specific regions around the world to ensure that it remains a secret. It is locked away in a vault in Louisville, Kentucky.
- KFC sells around 14 million pieces of chicken a week, that’s approximately 700 million pieces a year.
- KFC sells about 134 million Chicken Wings a year, making wings the UK’s favourite KFC pick.
- KFC came to Britain in 1965, with the first restaurant opening in Preston, Lancashire, and there are now nearly 900 restaurants across the UK with 24,000 employees.
- About 280 million portions of KFC fries are sold every year, which is equivalent to half a billion potatoes and would fill 80 Olympic sized swimming pools.
The chain promises the new fries will be thicker, crispier and taller so they are better for dipping in ketchup.
KFC added that making them chunkier means they stay hot for longer too.
The chain has been slammed for its chips on social media over the years.
One diner wrote on Twitter: "Dear KFC, No one likes your fries. Yours sincerely, the entire world."
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Another said: "KFC are riding solely on their chicken because Christ, those are crap fries."
Jack Hinchliffe, innovation director at KFC UK & Ireland said: “We don’t change things on a whim – the Colonel’s Original Recipe chicken hasn’t changed since he finalised it in 1940.
"This was different though. We heard the nation’s outcry. We read the brutal tweets.
"We had to step up our fries game. Thicker, chunkier, tastier. Job done.”
KFC has just brought back its Dirty Louisiana burger - but it's only available for another three weeks.
Meanwhile Burger King is trying to take on KFC by launching a Crispy Chicken Burger - but it's pricier than the chicken chain.
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