---
title: "KFC Launches Online Ordering Capabilities––But Didn’t Tell Consumers"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/74f9f785-93c2-4715-9f9a-f034d0c31f7f
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/kfc-launches-online-ordering-capabilities-but-didnt-tell-consumers-2711323
category: "Chicken"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Chicken"
topics: ["Technology"]
published: 2019-10-15T22:17:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:29:19.823Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/a85786ec01ed7a50a4b702ab284165602808.jpg
---

# KFC Launches Online Ordering Capabilities––But Didn’t Tell Consumers

**TL;DR:** KFC launched online ordering capabilities without notifying consumers, sparking controversy. The company saw a large uptick in orders almost immediately, with Chief Information Officer Christopher Caldwell citing the importance of making the brand easier to use for consumers.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-10-15. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/kfc-launches-online-ordering-capabilities-but-didnt-tell-consumers-2711323).*

## Story

**Last week, KFC became our best friend when it announced the** **permanent addition of fried chicken wings** **at participating locations. But this week, the ‘finger lickin’ good’ fast casual chain may have just become our foe.**

**According to** **Restaurant Business Online****, last week, KFC also launched online ordering capabilities, but decided against telling consumers. The audacity!**

**Restaurant Business Online says that the company intentionally said basically nothing regarding the online ordering launch, other than by popping a few signs in some of its restaurants. “We launched it last Monday without any media,” said Chief Information Officer for KFC U.S. Christopher Caldwell in a statement. “The only people who happened to see it were those who went to kfc.com.”**

**The company saw a large uptick in orders almost immediately, according to Caldwell.**

**The chief information officer considers the immediate positive performance as indicative of the way consumers are interacting with restaurants these days and how there has been a significant increase in restaurants launching their own mobile-ordering apps, the article states.**

**“People expect now if they go to branded websites that ordering should be there for them,” said Caldwell. “ [… ] What I’m focused on from a tech perspective is to continue to drive sales by making our brand easier. Anything we can do to simplify the process and make it easy and relevant for consumers.”**

**KFC isn’t the only fast casual tailoring its** **tech abilities to make consumers’ lives easier****. Salata, a soup, salad and wrap chain, also recently launched a** **new online-ordering experience****, whereby customers are now graced with a mobile-optimized guest checkout, with options to signi in, modify products and orders, order for a group and more.**

**Even Marky-Mark got the picture. Wahlburgers announced today that it has launched a new mobile ordering app complete with exclusive member benefits, according to** **Fast Casual****. The app provides mobile ordering, access to limited-time offers, a store location and more.**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- fast casual (topic)
- KFC (company)
- FastCasual (publication)
- online ordering (topic)
- mobile ordering (topic)
- Salata (company)
- Wahlburgers (company)
- Restaurant Business Online (publication)
- tech capabilities (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/kfc-launches-online-ordering-capabilities-but-didnt-tell-consumers-2711323). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/74f9f785-93c2-4715-9f9a-f034d0c31f7f).