Fast food restaurant company (KFC) – Kenyan chapter, has apologised to Kenyans for running out of potatoes to fry chips.
In a statement, KFC said that increased orders during the December festival saw the potatoes stock run out.
“Oh Chips, you loved our chips an extra room much and we run out. Sorry!” KFC said in a poster that was shared on its official Social media accounts.
In a statement that accompanied the post, KFC advised customers to choose the substitutes which include; chicken, buns, 500ml drink, lel coleslaw and ugali.
“Mlikula sherehe and enjoyment with all your KFC faves. Y’all loved our chips a little too much, and we’ve run out. Sorry! Our team is working hard to resolve the issue. In the meantime we’ve proposed some SWAP options for combo meals if you are craving some of our Kuku,” the statement read in part.
The statement was however met with backlash with netizens questioning why the franchise imports potatoes instead of buying the readily available produce from Kenyan farmers.
In his response, the Chief Executive for East Africa Jacques Theunissen explained that some of the corporate rules and procedures don’t allow the firm to source the key ingredient locally.
“The reason we cannot buy local at the moment is all suppliers need to go through the global QA approval process and we cannot bypass that even if we run out to ensure that our food is safe for consumption by our customers,” he said.
Here are a few reactions from Kenyans as sampled by K24 Digital;
“Haki nyinyi chipo yenu ni kidogo sana mkishirikiana na Chicken Inn . Last time mliniekea chipo saba peke yake,wah!” Nancie Bwari tweeted.
“Why don’t you guys buy the potatoes from our Kenyan farmers in Nyandarua😊. They have them in plenty. Starting my 2022 on chicken ugali na soda sound much like repeating of 2021😜😀,” Njage Maina wrote.
Hellen Mbugua said: ‘Can I Supply the potatoes. I have in plenty at a farm somewhere.”
“I can supply potatoes got a big farm with potatoes,” Samuel Nyaga added.
Winnie Saida stated, “The chips we got over Christmas were such a disappointment.”
