Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken and one of the most recognizable figures in fast food history, spent his final years openly criticizing the brand he helped create. Though he remained the company’s iconic spokesperson until his death in 1980, Sanders made no secret of his frustration with how KFC changed after he sold it.
Sanders began the KFC empire from a roadside gas station in Kentucky. In 1964, he sold the business and its more than 600 franchises to a group of investors for $2 million. The deal allowed him to stay on as the face of the company. But tensions grew after the chain was sold again in 1971 to the food corporation Heublein.
The Colonel publicly attacked the food served by the new corporate owners, claiming the gravy tasted like “wallpaper paste” and describing the extra crispy chicken as a “fried doughball stuck on some chicken.” These comments came even as he continued to appear in marketing campaigns.
Heublein responded by saying Sanders’ original gravy recipe was too complex, costly, and slow to prepare on a large scale. Despite the criticism, the company chose not to remove Sanders as the brand’s representative, believing his image still had strong value.
The conflict escalated when Sanders and his wife opened a restaurant in Shelbyville, Kentucky, in 1968 called The Colonel’s Lady. Heublein sued, arguing that it owned the rights to Sanders’ name. Sanders countersued, claiming KFC was misusing his likeness to sell food he no longer endorsed.
In 1975, both parties reached a settlement. Sanders received $1 million and agreed to stop publicly criticizing KFC. The Shelbyville restaurant was allowed to stay open, renamed Claudia Sanders Dinner House after his wife. As part of the agreement, Sanders was given a chance to demonstrate how KFC food should be prepared.
After Sanders’ death in 1980, KFC changed hands again. R.J. Reynolds acquired it in 1982, followed by PepsiCo in 1986. It was later spun off into Yum! Brands in 1997. Today, KFC operates more than 30,000 restaurants in 150 countries. Colonel Sanders’ smiling image still appears on every KFC logo, despite the founder’s very public dissatisfaction with the company’s direction.
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