S3 Ep. 191 Building a Business Legacy: Unveiling the Success Stories of KFC and Coca-Cola

Speaker 1: Hello there, welcome to the World Cafe podcast. This podcast has been designed with created content that centers on the power of words. Can we really do anything without speaking? Can we really do anything without the agency of words? Yes, that is what this podcast is all about, and I am your host , amakri Isubie, your neighborhood word trader. I believe in the power of words , for it is the unit of creation . I trade in words to profit my world. Good morning, good afternoon. Good evening, good everything. How are you? Afternoon? Good evening, good everything. How are you? Afternoon Good evening, good everything. How are you? I guess I just repeated myself. Yes, I had to do something quickly. I was trying to put together one or two things and I discovered something was amiss, so I had to go back. That's why. So maybe you heard me greet you twice. Well, that's because you deserve it. How are you? How are you doing? I must ask that question because the truth is, I always have this, what I call it joy, gladness within, you know, knowing that you are there, listening, and I just feel that energy and it fuels me, and I come into the studio every now and then to share all of that. I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, I am good and it's been an amazing, amazing season, yes, amazing time for me. A lot happening, good. Yes, I call them good because that is what I choose to see Good. It's not as if those challenges are not there, but I choose to see the good in all of it, yeah. So what are we? What are we going to be doing? Like you know, what are we going to be doing? I guess you're wondering. I guess you're wondering well, something, something good in the neighborhood of business. I'm not a business business person like you know. All of that. My wife is. She does a lot of. You know, she's into business and so a couple of times we sit down, we talk and she tells me her frustration and all of that. The challenge putting up a structure, setting up a structure, see how your business runs even when you are not there when you really know that you are in business is when you set up the structure. You're away for, say, three months, yeah, and the business is still running. Then you are in business. You know, like I was listening to Uzi Uzi Tembaquayo the other day and he was saying something about, you know, when individuals call themselves entrepreneurs and all of that. Individuals call themselves entrepreneurs and all of that. They are more or less business owners, yes or self sorry, not business owners, self-employed, or they work for themselves. When you get into that zone, you come to see that for you to be an entrepreneur, there's more . For you to be a business owner, there's more, you know. So it's more than, uh, what you see, there's a lot that goes and all that. So I hear her speak. A good number of us who call ourselves entrepreneurs, as in business owners, actually were self-employed, no offense, were self-employed. So I hear my wife when she talks and all of that. So, okay, I decided to do something, like you know, say something, go do some research, and all of that. So I sat down to look at certain businesses. Well, for your information, what we're doing today is legacy in business. That's what I mean. I want to call it legacy in business. I mean I want to call it legacy in business and two businesses or two names came to mind. That's KFC, kentucky Fried Chicken and Coca-Cola. And I decided to go do some research, the way I normally do, to ask questions, one or two things, and I came up with some interesting things which I want to share. I'm going to do more of reading again, like you know, to help you know, and, uh, in between, interject, say one or two things , then you know, yada, yada, yeah, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then we draw the cotton. So KFC Corporation, ah yes, doing business. As KFC, also commonly referred to by its historical name, kentucky Fried Chicken, is an American fast food, a fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, kentucky, louisville, I think, kentucky. It is the world's second largest restaurant chain as measured by sales, after McDonald's, with over 30,000 locations globally in 150 countries. That's a business that's global , you know, as of April 2024. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Heart and Taco Bell chains. Yep Also owns the Pizza Heart and Taco Bell chains. Yep KFC was founded by Colonel Alan Sanders 1890 to 1980. An entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Coben, kentucky, during the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, you know, one thing I've come to discover is when we always have depression or challenge, when the economy is challenged and all that, we begin to see ideas spring up, like they say what do you call it? Necessity, the mother of invention. You begin to see things spring up. So Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept and the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened in Salt Lake City, utah, in 1952. Diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. Yep, by branding himself as colonel sanders, ireland became a prominent figure of american cultural history. So now I I've come to see that when you capture the essence of a people, culturally speaking, infuse it into your business, there's this potential it has to outlive, to go beyond even your given location. It cuts across. That should I say widespread? Yes, it cuts are widespread, yes, it's culturally widespread. Bikibipro is a figure of American cultural history and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising to this day. However, the company's rapid expansion overwhelmed the aging Sanders and he sold it to a group of investors led by John Y Brown Jr and Jack C Massey in 1964. Stay with me. Kfc was one of the first American fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the united kingdom, mexico and jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s it experienced mixed fortunes domestically as it went through a series of changes in corporate ownership with title or no experience in the restaurant business. In the early 1970s, kfc was sold to the spirits distribute distributor hubland, which was taken over by the rj reynolds food and tobacco conglomerate okay. That company sold the chain to pepsico. The chain continued to expand overseas, however. In 1987 it became the first western restaurant chain to open in china. It was since expanded. It has since expanded rapidly in China, which is now the company's single largest market. Pepsico spawns of its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum Brands. Kfc's original product is fresher fried chicken pieces seasoned with Sanders' signature recipe of 11 herbs and spices. I love that. We'll get to that. The constituents of the recipe are trade secret. Indeed, larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard bucket, which has become a feature of the chain since it was first introduced by franchise Pete Amann in 1957. Since the early 1990s, kfc has expanded its menu to other chicken products, such as chicken fillet, sandwiches and wraps, as well as salads and side dishes such as French fries and coleslaw, desserts and soft drinks, the latter often supplied by PepsiCo. Obviously, kfc is known for its slogan it's Finger Licking Good , it's Finger Licking Good. Nobody does chicken like KFC. We do chicken right and so good . Yep, so a little history here. Now sanders caught at cafe. Harland sanders was born in 1890 and raised on a farm. I want us to follow this. Outside henryville, indiana, near near Louisville, kentucky, when Sanders was five years old, his father died. Oh what a shame. Forcing his mother oh what a pity, I beg your pardon forcing his mother to work at a canning plant. This left Sanders as the first son to care for his two younger siblings and after he reached seven years of age, his mother taught him how to cook. After leaving the family home at the age of 13, sanders passed through several professions with mixed success. All right. In 1930, sanders took over a shell fillingfilling station on US Route 25, just outside North Cobham, kentucky, a small town on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains I hope I got that pronunciation correct Appalachian Mountains, I guess. Mountains, I guess. Okay, it was here that he first served to travelers the recipes that he had learned as a child here that fried chicken and other dishes such as steaks and country ham. After four years of serving from his own dining room table, sanders purchased a larger filling station on the other side of the road and expanded to six tables by 1936,. This had proven successful enough for Sanders to be given the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel by the governor, ruby Laffoon. So that's how the name, as in the Colonel, came about. He wasn't necessarily in the military, so to say. In 1937, he expanded his restaurant to 142 seats and othered a motel he purchased across the street. So you see, it's growing. Women eat, sanders' court and cafe. Sanders was unhappy with the 35 minutes it took to prepare his chicken in an iron frying pan. That he refused to deep fry the chicken, which he believed lowered the quality of the product. If he precooked the chicken in advance of orders, there was sometimes wastage at day's end. In 1939, the first commercial pressure cookers were released onto the market, mostly designed for steaming vegetables. Sanders bought one, modified it into a pressure fryer, which he then used to fry chicken. The new method reduced production time to be comparable with deep frying while, in the opinion of Sanders, retaining the quality of pan-fried chicken . Mmm. You see. So the original recipe and franchising. In July 1940, sanders finalized what came to be known as the original recipe of 11 herbs and spices. Although he never publicly revealed the recipe, he said the ingredients include salt and spices. Although he never publicly revealed the recipe, he said the ingredients include salt and pepper and that the rest stand on everybody's shelf. Is it really a secret? So, after being recommissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in 1950 by the Governor, lawrence Weatherby Sanders began to dress . The governor Lawrence Weatherby Sanders began to dress the part you know, growing a goatee, wearing a black frock coat you know. Later switched to a white suit and a string tie and referring to himself as McConnell. Yep, I earned it. His associates went through, yes, with the title change jokingly at the first, and then in earnest, according to his biographer, josh I beg your pardon Ozeski, josh Ozeski. So in 1952 Sanders franchised his recipe to his friend Pete Hammond of South Salt Lake, utah , the operator of one of the city's largest restaurants. Sanders' court and cafe generally served travelers. Route planned in 1956 for interstate 75 bypassed his properties. Sanders sold them and traveled the us to franchise his recipe to restaurant owners. Independent restaurant would pay for, would pay four later, five cents on each chicken as a franchise fee in exchange for sander's recipe and the right to feature it on the menus and use his name and likeness for promotional purposes. Okay, it's getting, you know, merrier donald anderson is signed pin to hire. Bahaman coined the name Kentucky Fried Chicken. You see, for Hammond the addition of KFC was a way of differentiating his restaurant from competition. A product from Kentucky was exotic and evoked imagery of southern hospitality. You see, the cultural thing there now fused into the business. So Hammond trademarked the phrase it's finger licking good, which eventually became the company slogan. He also introduced the bucket meal in 1957 14 pieces of chicken, five bread rolls and a pint of gravy in a cardboard bucket. Serving their signature meal in a paper bucket was to become an iconic feature of the company. You see, now, you know, digging deep into the cultural essence of the South, you know, in the US, and all of that. So that's what we see here. Him, you know, getting into his very core. So by 1963, there were 600 KFC restaurants, making the company the largest fast food operations in the United States. Kfc popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the dominance of the hamburger yes, americans are known for that. Yes, challenging the hamburger with significant growth in toll. The fledgling Kentucky Fried Chicken decided in 1964 that they would begin offering franchise opportunities beyond the Atlantic and landed on the United Kingdom as its entry point into Europe. As such, the first British KFC E3 opened its doors at yes, 92 Fishergate in Preston, lancashire in Preston Lancashire I hope I'm correct, I mean I call that well On May 1st 1965, and still operates today. Wow. So Pat Grace met with Sanders at his holiday home near Toronto and agreed to franchise the brand in Ireland. In 1970, grace returned to Ireland, after a number of years in Canada, to open his first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Peaceboro Shopping Center in Dublin. Eventually he opened another six restaurants located in Dublin, limerick and Cork. After disagreement over cost-cutting with KFC management in the early 1980s, our Irish restaurants were renamed to Pat Grace's Famous Fried Chicken, reportedly retaining the original recipe. These stores were closed in the late 1980s. Pat Grace went to a wholesale chicken spice blend under the brand Grace Perfect blend. Now one thing that's fascinating about the story. Yes, there's a lot there, but I just want you to. I'm going to stop here because of the background of the history of the business. Yes, kentucky, after that Kentucky Fried Chicken I beg your pardon, kfc grew. It expanded beyond the shores of America and it went all like we saw there over a hundred countries. So that something strikes me there the way he started the business, the way he grew the business, he saw it beyond himself and I think that's one aspect of being a business person, an entrepreneur as you want to call it. You want to go into that space, you want to do stuff Seeing beyond you, Going into that cultural nuance, and that's what he did. At the same time, he saw that this thing is beyond me. Yes, he started franchising it. If you dig deeper, you come to see that he made so much money at the end of the day, but he also empowered a lot of people, gave opportunity to a lot of people to like, get on board and get in touch with what I mean Kentucky was all about and, at the same time, sharing it with the world. Food yes, good food. Eat good food and all of that, yes. My second story is about Coca-Cola. Yep, who doesn't know Coca-Cola ? Okay, a lot of us, you know, we know Coca-Cola. Yep, who doesn't know Coca-Cola ? Okay, a lot of us, you know, we know Coca-Cola. So Coca-Cola, or Coke as we call it, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola company in 2013. Coke products were sold in over 200 countries. Whoa Across, that's, overall, the continents. Over 200 countries. Whoa Across that's, overall, the continent. Over 200 countries worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Did you hear that Coca-Cola ranked number 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporation by total revenue? Based on Best Global Brands study of 2023, coca-cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand. Did you hear that, originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patient, or rather a patent medicine, pocacola was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, georgia, in 1888. Pemberton sold the ownership right to Arthur Grings Candler, a businessman whose market and tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the global soft drink market throughout the 20th and 21st century. The to refers to two of its origin or, I beg a pardon, original ingredients coca leaves . Does the coca leaves and cola not a source of caffeine? Yes, a painkiller. The current formula of coca cola remains, as usual, a trade secret, like we saw in that of KFC. However, a variety of reported recipes and experimented recreations have been published. The secrecy around the formula has been used by Coca-Cola in its marketing and, as only a handful of anonymous employees know the formula, oh okay, the drink has inspired imitators and created a whole classification of soft drink colas. Yes, the Coca-Cola company produced concentrate, which is then sold to licensed Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold exclusive territory contracts with the company, produce the finished products in cans and bottles from the concentrate In combination with filtered water and sweetness. A typical 12 US fluid v ones, as in 350 mil meals, can contain 38 grams 1.3 oz of sugar, usually in the form of high fructose corn syrup. In north america the bottles then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola to retail stores, restaurants and vending machines throughout the world. The Coca-Cola company also sells concentrate for soda fountains of major restaurants and food services. Wow, the Coca-Cola company has no occasion has on occasion introduced other cola drinks under the Coke name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, along others including caffeine-free Coca-Cola Diet Coke, caffeine-free Coca-Cola Zero sugar Coca-Cola Cherry, coca-cola Vanilla and special version with lemon, lime and coffee. Coca-cola was called Coca-Cola Classic from July 1985 to 2009 to distinguish it from New Cola. Did you hear that? So the Confederate colonel John Pemberton, wounded in the American Civil War and addicted to morphine yes, morphine Also had a medical that's giving you a history now a medical degree and began a quest to find a substitute for the problematic drug. In 1885, pemberton's Eagle Drug and Chemical House, his drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, he registered Pemberton's French wine, cola neb tonic. Pemberton's Tonic may have been inspired by the formidable success of Vin Mariana, a French coca wine, but his recipe additionally included the african cola knot, the beverage's source of caffeine. A spanish drink called cola coca was presented as a contest in philadelphia in 90 I mean, I beg your pardon 1885, a year before the official birth of Coca-Cola. The rights of the Spanish drink were bought by Coca-Cola in 1953. Did you hear that? Sorry, yes, 1953. In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition registration, pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, a non-alcoholic version of Pemberton's French wine cola. It was marked as Coca-Cola, or rather it was marketed as Coca-Cola. The temperance drink, which appeared to many as the temperance movement, enjoyed wide support during this time. The first sales were at Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta, georgia, on May 8, 1886, where it initially sold for five cents a glass. Drugstore soda fountains were popular in the United States at the time due to the belief that carbonated water was good for the health, and Pemberton's new drink was marked and sold as a patent medicine, pemberton, claiming it a cure for many diseases, including morphine addiction, indigestion, nerve disorders, headaches and impotence. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29th of the same year in the Atlanta Journal. Okay, did you hear that by 1888 , three versions of Coca-Cola sold by the three separate businesses were on the market? A co-partnership had been formed on January 1888 between Pemberton and four Atlanta businessmen JC Mayfield, ao Murphy, co Mulahai and EH Bloodworth, not codified by any signed document. A verbal statement given by Asser Candler years later asserted on the testimony that he had acquired a stake in Pepperton's company as early as 1887. John Pepperton declared that the name Coca-Cola belonged to his son, but the other two manufacturers could continue to use the formula. Charlie Pemberton's record of control over the Coca-Cola name was the underlying factor that allowed for him to participate as a major shareholder in the March 1888 Coca-Cola Company Incorporation filing made in his father's place. Charlie's exclusive control over the Coca-Cola name became a continual thorn in Arthur Candler's side Candler's side. Candler's oldest son, charles Howard Candler, authored the book in 1950 published by Emory University. In this definitive biography about his father, candler specifically states on April 14, 1888, the young druggist Arthur Griggs, candler and Co, with John Pemberton acting as co-signer for his son, for $50 down and $500 in 30 days, walker , candler and Co obtained all of the one-third interest in the Coca-Cola company that Charlie held All while Charlie Steele held on to the name. After the April 14th deal, on April 17th 1888, one-half of the Walker-Durzee interest shares were acquired by Candler for an additional $750. So you see, now you see something that started like we will call it a child's play, grew and became a renowned round . So let us leave the controversies. You know who owns what. But these two individuals, that's Conor Sanders, that's the KFC and John Pemberton you can see where they came from Building a business, a brand that became a movement. Two things or one thing is common when you look at the two stories the culture, the culture . Then they took it one step further. They were answering questions, they were solving problems, they built a structure. But they have this mindset that is my thinking, that's my opinion that this thing is beyond us, it's beyond me. So I won't hold on to it, because some of us, when we are into business, the way we run it is like it's all about me, me, me. Okay, can you look at the bigger picture? Can you look at the broad or the broader spectrum? Can you see it? Can you see it? Can you see the possibilities that people can come in? Yes, I know we have this fear of greed or people coming with other opinion and all of that like, uh, they want to come with the mindset of to steal or whatever. Well, listen, you cannot steal one's idea completely. No, you cannot. No, you cannot, no, you can't. I word, you cannot. You may steal something, but the soul behind that entity, that product, that business cannot be stolen. That is what you should know. You come to see that there is this amplifying that takes place . There is this amplitude, it is amplified, it becomes bigger and , before you know it, it fills the whole space, the whole room. So this is what I came to do today on the show, just to encourage those of us who are in business out there. You know the legacy. What's going to be your legacy? What's going to be your legacy? Ask yourself that question. You are in that business. Do you want to be that subsistent business? You just want it to be for yourself. Your backyard maybe I just grow it in my backyard and it ends there. But if you have that drive to make it global, you know to go on the scene, to be known and all of that. You must have this mindset. What's the culture? Yes, can you interpret the culture Can you find your business, can you find your passion in the culture, making it like a popular culture. It becomes like KFC and Coca-Cola, which became what I say, a medium or a media for expression of culture. And now you know, it's like you're eating KFC, the pride of America, so to say, the pride of the Deep South, as we want to call it. Or you have a bottle of Coca-Cola in your hands, oh, wow , that temperate movement, as they call it. Something exciting, I mean, it eases your pain and all of that. But today it's beyond that. It's beyond that. You had all the figures and facts that were given, but that is it. They dug into the culture, the consciousness of the people, the consciousness of their region, the consciousness of the world, and, wow, the business grew from that point. Wow, this is what I came to do today, just to encourage you. You know how we do it on the show. Yes, you do, yes, you do. This is the space where we come in to lean on one another's experience, to forge a positive path. So, for business, you know, prospective business owners, entrepreneurs, those of us who have been doing self-employed or whatever did you hear that? Did you hear that Gotta go now. Well, till I come your way again you know how we say it at the show Bye for now. Awesome time it has been with you on the World Cafe podcast today. Thank you for being there. You can catch me up on my social media handles Twitter, facebook, linkedin and Instagram , all at Amakri Isoboye. Also, you can get copies of my books A Cocktail of Words, the Color of Words by H Aaron Notebook and Hocus Pocus on God on Amazon and Roving Heights online bookstores. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel at the same address at Amakri Isowe. I love to hear from you and how this podcast has impacted you. You can leave me a message at my email address at makrigaribaldi at gmailcom. That is A-M-A-C-H-R-E-E-E-G-A-R-I-B-A-L-D-I . Yes, till I come your way again . Bye for now.