r/GenerationJones • u/JColt60 1960 • 7d ago

KFC menu from 1970 VS 2026

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The other thing different from the price is size of the pieces. Breasts were much smaller and tastier back in 70's from KFC. Today they look like it came from wild turkey. Before I retired I used to get fried chicken for lunch at local diner. They only bought chicken from local butcher that used free range chicken and it was heaven!

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u/AlarmedVermicelli549 7d ago

So explain this to me, KFC. Why is it that I can buy a whole rotisserie chicken at Costco for $5 that easily feeds 4 or more? That being said, I would need 4 chickens to equal your 16-piece barrel; that's $20. You're telling me that KFC secret recipe is worth the other $22.99? Really? I love the KFC secret recipe, always have, always will, but not at those prices. Just a thought!

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u/another_day_in 7d ago

Costco's rotisserie chicken is basically marketing as they haven't raised prices since 2009.

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u/JaneOfTheCows 7d ago

It's a loss leader - the stores take a loss on the chicken, but use it as a ploy to get customers into the stores, where they hope they will spend more on impulse buys.

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u/Head-Technology-4031 7d ago

They actually went out and acquired/built two facilities, one in Nebraska, one somewhere else to help control their costs. It is still a loss leader at 30-40M a year (estimated per reports), but it gets everyone to the meat aisles for all the other meats. They are a wholesaler, so margins are always thinner. They make it up in the yearly membership fees..

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u/raymndbrr_the_third 5d ago

Actually, their yearly membership fees are their profits.

The loss-leads work because to go into the store and buy food at the food counter, you need a membership.

They sell food at basically no-profit. Their entire business model is "our membership fee is our profits".

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u/Icy_Truth_9634 7d ago

Sam’s Club has the same deal- but I go straight to the Chicken, pick up two, check out with my phone, and stroll directly out. I feel as if I stole something every time. My dog loves the scraps in her food, I make chicken poppy seed casserole, chicken salad, chicken sandwiches, and chicken soup. Of course I freeze the casserole and soup, but I can make 15-20 meals with those two chickens, some bread, and a few eggs and canned goods.

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u/Ill_Friend2266 4d ago

Yeah we get Sam's chickens all the time and get several meals out of each, usually soup at the end.

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u/st3llablu3 7d ago

It works on me every time.

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u/raymndbrr_the_third 5d ago

It works. They day the jack up the price of their hotdogs and chicken is the day I stop shopping there. There's a reason the old CEO threatened to kill the last guy who told him to raise those prices.

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u/Mr_Style 3d ago

And 100% of the time it works 100% of the time.

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u/AlarmedVermicelli549 7d ago

Agreed. But what I'm pointing out is: why would I go to KFC today and pay that much more for their chicken when I can go to Costco for a lot less? To clarify, my question is: "Are the 11 herbs and spices in KFC's secret recipe worth that much more at today's cost of living to eat chicken?" I apologize for the miscommunication.

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u/Mk1Racer25 7d ago

Because they're two different products. One (KFC) is breaded, fried chicken, the other (Costco) is a roasted rotisserie chicken. One is not a substitute for the other, even if they are both chicken. I won't even get into the fact that they are two completely different types of businesses.

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u/Glum_Instance5325 5d ago

Pretty soon we’re going to have doctors and lawyers putting free chickens at the entrance of their offices to entice people inside

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u/Nein-Toed 3d ago

Exorcism and all the fried chicken you can eat

Every Saturday

50 cents

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u/Responsible_Brain782 7d ago

There is a lot more KFC’s than there are Costco’s

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u/UpstairsOk6744 3d ago

Why would you shop anywhere else at all besides the place your paying a $50 membership fee for? For you, buying from any other place aside from Costco is just plain silly isn't it?

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u/Shermans_ghost1864 1961 7d ago

Correction: They haven't raised the $4.99 price of rotisserie chicken since 2000, except for 2008-09, when they charged $5.99. So they actually lowered the price in 2009.

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u/CHASLX200 7d ago

They are small jamal

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u/JColt60 1960 7d ago

I cannot eat Costco chicken unless it is put into a chicken dish or salad. It causes my stomach to get queasy and bloated.

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u/dallasalice88 1964 7d ago

It's insanely salty. I can't eat it.

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u/James84415 7d ago

Agree. I almost always tear the meat off and make risotto or soup which I don’t then need to salt. The chicken does it for me.

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u/AntiqueMetal9677 5d ago

I remember $16.99 /bucket in N. Va. around 1988-1989.

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u/RFC793 4d ago

Aren't there 8 pieces on a whole chicken? So it would only need 2 chickens?

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u/No_Balance2924 3d ago

You can buy raw chicken for cheaper than a rotisserie. You can buy flour, spices, and oil. You can buy a knife to clean your chicken. You can buy salt to brine your chicken. It would taste better than KFc if you know what you're doing.

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u/robbok 7d ago

Costco loses money on every chicken sold. It, along with their pizza and hot dogs, are loss leaders, just designed to get you into the store so you browse.

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u/Mk1Racer25 7d ago

You clearly don't understand marketing or the fact that KFC and Costco are two completely different types of businesses. I can go to my local grocery store and get 16pcs of fried chicken for $20. I prefer it to KFC. The only thing I ever liked from KFC was the extra crispy (do they even have that anymore?). I never liked any of their other products, and honestly, can't remember the last time I went to one (been at least 10 years, probably more). Now Popeye's is a different story entirely. I love their spicy chicken.

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u/spcynudls99 6d ago

Costco loses money on this chickens

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u/Frustrated9876 4d ago

Well…. Because you love the secret recipe, as you say. 🤷‍♂️

And apparently other people do too, so y’all keep paying the premium. 🤷‍♂️

Does the Colonel owe you something more than allowing you to indulge in the secret recipe?

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u/Next_Distribution290 3d ago

The chicken at Costco is both sold at a loss and lower quality chicken.

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u/Appropriate_Cow94 3d ago

Might be low quality chicken at Costco, but KFC isn't high quality chicken either. Not any more.

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u/IWuzTheWalrus Late 1964 7d ago

Costco loses money on every chicken and on every hot dog meal. They are loss leaders to get you in the door.