Chicken Wars: KFC offering holiday 'buckets'

Yum Brands' chicken chain offers holiday contest to ward off Chick-fil-A and Popeyes

Well, if it works for coffee, why not chicken?

Taking note of the wildly popular success of the Starbucks holiday coffee cups, KFC is decking the halls and designing limited-edition holiday buckets, featuring artwork by award-winning children's book author and illustrator Nicholas John Frith.

KFC COLONEL SANDERS HALLOWEEN COSTUME RELEASED

While KFC has offered special holiday-themed containers around the world since the 1970s, this marks the first time the U.S. has had an original illustration for its buckets. Their buckets also double as a contest. Customers can enter for a chance to win a unique KFC gift pictured in the holiday bucket illustration such as a Colonel Sanders nutcracker or a tree topper featuring the iconic character. To win, consumers must snap a photo of their favorite item and post it to Instagram with the hashtags #SecretSanders and #Entry. The contest closes on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Grab a holiday-inspired bucket of fried chicken and enter KFC's #SecretSanders Instagram contest for a chance to win one of 11 original KFC gifts through Dec. 22 from a Col. Sanders nutcracker (bottom left) to a Col. Sanders "tree topper" (top center

KFC is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands with some 23,000 restaurants in more than 140 countries. The fast-food chain finds itself these days in a “chicken war” with Chick-fil-A and Popeyes winning over consumers. To that end, KFC has been pumping up its marketing and new menu offerings.

CHICK-FIL-A ADDS A CHEESY COMFORT FOOD TO ITS MENU

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In August, it got into the plant-based food game. In September, out came the chicken and donut sandwich. Then, just in time for football season, it introduced new Kentucky Fried Wings in October and for a limited time offered free delivery. Two weeks ago, it began offering a new take on classic chicken and waffles with Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffles.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
YUM YUM! BRANDS INC. 141.56 -0.25 -0.18%

In the U.S., which makes up about 17 percent of KFC’s revenue, same-store sales declined by 1 percent in Yum’s most recent earnings release. Last week, Yum said it would repurchase up to $2 billion in shares of common stock.

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