KFC is a fast food brand specializing in fried chicken that started in Kentucky and is so famous that almost no one is unaware of it.

This company operates over 30,000 stores in 150 countries, making it the second largest fast food chain in the world.

The Story of Colonel Harland Sanders

When you think of Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC, the image of 'Colonel Sanders' in a white suit with white hair comes to mind, right? But in fact, he did not succeed in the chicken business from the start. He had a tumultuous life and found success in his old age.

Harland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana, USA.

• His father passed away when he was 6 → He learned to cook to help support his family.
• He did various jobs from his teenage years → He worked as a farm laborer, steam engine repairman, insurance salesman, railroad employee, and more.
• He dropped out of night school for law → He tried to work as a lawyer but failed.

At this point, he had no idea where his life was headed, let alone KFC.

Starting the Chicken Business

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, he started selling food while running a gas station in Corbin, KY.

• He sold his homemade fried chicken to travelers, and the response was positive.
• In 1940, he developed the secret recipe for KFC (11 herbs and spices).
• As word spread about the chicken, it became popular, and he officially opened a restaurant.

But that was not the end. In the 1950s, as new highways were built, the number of customers began to decline.

Eventually, Sanders had to close the restaurant and almost lost all his money haha.

Franchise Business Restarted in Old Age

As you can see from the business card above..... he was already in his mid-60s but did not give up.

• In 1952, he started traveling across the United States to sell his chicken recipe.
• He persuaded restaurant owners, saying, "Sell chicken with my recipe, and give me a royalty for each one sold."
• He was rejected hundreds of times but kept challenging without giving up.
• Finally, the first KFC franchise was born in a restaurant in Utah.

From that point on, KFC began to expand rapidly.

KFC's Success and Sanders' Final Days

• In 1964, as KFC became nationally famous, Sanders sold the company to a group of investors (John Y. Brown Jr. & Jack C. Massey) for $2 million.
• However, he continued to act as the 'face of the brand' and served as KFC's advertising model.
• In 1980, he passed away at the age of 90.

Even after Sanders' death, his face remains a symbol of the KFC brand, and the Colonel Sanders character continues to appear in KFC advertisements today.

What Harland Sanders Left Behind

• He experienced various failures until his 60s but succeeded by challenging the franchise business without giving up.
• He is a person who proved the saying, "The best time to start is when you think it's too late."
• He is the founder of the global fast food brand KFC.
• He remains a symbolic figure in American business history as the face of the brand.

Colonel Sanders is not just the founder of KFC but a person who showed that one can challenge and succeed in any situation.