KFC pauses offers amid chicken shortages

KFC has reportedly been forced to pause one of its weekly food offers due to a shortage of chicken, according to The Sun. In a company memo sent to branches, seen by the paper, it is alleged that company bosses issued urgent update warnings of shortages. 

The shortages experienced by KFC have been attributed to a number of reasons, which included the Russia-Ukraine crisis, soaring energy bills, among other reasons.

According to The Sun, the memo stated that “due to the shortage of chicken on the bone, we are again pausing the WOW Tuesday offer. We will confirm our position for the remainder of the window once we have confirmed supply”.

The WOW Tuesday offer is a popular deal for 9 pieces of chicken for £5.99.

The memo also urged staff to remove the ‘Tuesday Big Deal’ banner and replace it with items from a “contingency folder”, including a ‘Family Feast’ banner and ‘Mighty Bucket for One’ sign.

The Sun, who were among the first to see the memo, revealed that the WOW offer would still be available on tills if restaurants had a sufficient supply of chicken on the bone to “avoid as much guest dissatisfaction as possible”.

This is not the first time the fast-food chicken chain has run out of popular menu items as last year it also faced weeks of disruption due to food shortages. The chain also reportedly ran out of chicken in 2018 and was forced to close more than 600 branches across the UK.

A KFC spokesperson told the Sun: “Recent supply chain challenges have meant some of our restaurants are facing a few shortages. We don’t want our fans to miss out but to uphold the Colonel’s high standards we’ve had to temporarily pause our Tuesday deal.

“Despite that, it’s service as usual – all thanks to our incredible team members. They’re doing a brilliant job keeping the fryers going, so please be kind to them.”