Hundreds of Aussie KFC outlets set for another price hike

After switching to a “cabbage and lettuce blend” when the leafy green shot up in price, the fast-food giant has now made another menu change.

Prices at hundreds of KFC restaurants across the country are set for another hike as Australia grapples with inflation.

On Tuesday, Collins Foods announced customers were “likely to see more (price hikes) in the year ahead”, despite the company already raising item prices since January.

The company owns 263 KFC outlets across Australia, including 23 Taco Bells in metro areas.

“The KFC brand has never been stronger in Australia, and metrics around quality, value and purchase intent are at record levels — particularly important in times like these,” chief executive Drew O’Malley said.

“While we are planning a higher level of menu pricing than historically … I need to take pains to point out this is exactly the environment we want to be winning in value,” Mr O’Malley said in a conference call.

“We’ve got to be careful of not getting too far out in front of our consumer to erode the work that’s been done over the past decade.”

“While menu pricing is factoring into our efforts to offset margin pressures, we will continue to keep value at the centre of our customer appeal. While some margin compression in the short-term is unavoidable, in the mid-term we expect margins to recover,” he said.

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Prices at hundreds of KFC restaurants across the country are set for another hike as Australia grapples with inflation.

The announcement came after KFC announced that customers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania may have a “temporary blend” of lettuce and cabbage in their meals as a result of a nationwide shortage caused by floods on the country’s east coast.

“We’ve hit a bit of an iceberg and are currently experiencing some lettuce supply chain disruptions,” they said in an update on their website.

The announcement came after KFC announced that customers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania may have a ‘temporary blend’ of lettuce and cabbage in their burgers.

“This means you may see a temporary blend of lettuce and cabbage throughout KFC restaurants except those in NT & SA … We’re working with our multiple suppliers to provide them with support, but we do expect disruptions to continue in the coming days.

“Apologies for any inconvenience caused, we appreciate you all being Little Gems as we work to get things back to normal ASAP.”