Speaking just about the UK, fried chicken has seen a huge resurgence in popularity this last decade. In my old stomping grounds of NW London I counted no less than 14 fried chicken joints in a half mile radius.. in that same radius there is a single post office

My guess is that British Yoot and Swiss Yoot are not that dissimilar.

I couldn't disagree more with your logic. KFC works in 115 countries including Germany and Austria, there is absolutely no reason why it couldn't work here IF the business was managed correctly. In any case its just a matter of time, it will be here and I am happy to put a bet on it

Taco Bell alone may succeed as Mexican food here is mostly crap and makes T.B. seem like gourmet; and the existing poulet vans have the market covered.

But the major thing, here, that everyone's overlooking, about KFC, is that it's shit. It needs those added flavours to disguise the lacking taste of cheap, imported battery-farmed chickens.

I feel sorry for all those who believe it to be a pleasant eating experience.

you say "shot", I say business opportunity and USP

"KFC is unique and unlike pizza restaurants would have very little competition. According to their website they have outlets in 115 countries so there is no reason why it can't work in CH. Like all business what's important is the execution of the idea and it would need an experienced franchise operator with knowledge of the Swiss market."

Thank you for your post! Encouraging to see that someone else thinks the same as me. I am 100% convinced that if done well in the right location, it will work. Want to know what other people think before I invest all that money.

"If you want to do something with chicken, that's more unique, then something along the lines of 'Pollo al Adeje' might work better."

The problem is who has heard of Pollo al Adeje? It will take time to tempt people to try it and build a customer base.


As for KFC..........

Is it as good as Los Pollos Hermanos?

Their special blend blows your mind

Best of luck with your novel food retail concept. I advise you to invest all your life savings in the business. Furthermore, I advise you to adopt a customer service ethic that's considerably better than your attitude to people who take the time to answer your apparently unresearched question. You're yet another of that wonderful breed on EF, the user who serially groans everyone whose response does not match what the user wants to hear.

it's not just about the right location, there are some excellent posts upthread about the difficulty of the food business in Switzerland. do you have experience of running a food outlet or more importantly a franchise of a famous brand?

Why not look at something like Nandos? It is perceived as a healthy fast food restaurant, it's tasty and in CH may be seen as a bit 'exotic' They seem to do really well in London and even have chains in places like Dubai.

I also thought about the Nandos but my gut feeling/business acumen tells me KFC would sell better. There was actually a Nandos copycat in Seebeach that failed.

It was here for 24 years... 1980 - 2004.... that's a long time to try and make something work.

I would say the problems here are:

• Price of locally sourced chicken along with all other high Swiss operating costs
• KFC use chicken farms where the chucks live in crappy conditions and are pumped full of rubbish in order to be able to fatten quickly enough to be someones meal. I'm guessing that doesn't fly in Switzerland, especially nowadays.
• KFC have a worse global reputation for bad health and hygiene that McDonalds et al

So, you would need to find a local chicken farm that was willing to provide chicken at a low cost, and provide enough to fuel several busy stores.

The fish and chips shop, Tramways, at Heuwaage in Basel does excellent fried chicken.

So, even in the land of bland culinary tastes, KFC struggled.


..... and regarding Adeje chicken, it doesn't matter that people haven't heard of it, as you wont be calling it that.

Surprisingly, it is less of a secret, now, as it was 25+ years ago, and there are references on the interweb, including Trip Advisor.

But the best option would be a cheap out of season flight down to the Island, and a drive up to hills, to experience it first hand.

So did KFC fail because their profit margins were not big enough due to the high cost of raw materials and wages etc here or was there not enough demand?

I know a lot of Swiss who really don't like greasy fatty food.

I think a good fried chicken place would have a chance here, but why model it after the world's most basic and boring fried chicken chain?

There's better and better burger joints popping up here in Switzerland, and finding success, and they're sure as hell not copying McDonalds and Burger King...

...why model yourself after the worlds most successful fried chicken chain? Let me think about that...

I still vote for a return. I wil eat for everyone.

I guess KFC had the same problem as BurgerKing had the first time they tried to open a restaurant in Switzerland. Not enough customers. This changed in the last few years and maybe there is a chance it could work.

In Zürich there is a place that sells "Kentucky Style" chicken and chicken wings:
http://www.freihofaltstetten.ch/

For the what its worth department: There used to be a chicken farm and restaurant in Wollishofen. They seemed to be known for their wings, but I wasn't overly impressed. Anyway they were packed on weekends. They closed a few years ago and it was replaced by apartments.