This plate has been focusing on the relationship between food and community and generally that big business is an obstacle for this community to take place. And I agree for the most part, but I would like to give you another perspective.
Japan is notorious for it’s hard working ethos and it’s justified. With nearly a quarter of Japanese companies having their employers working more than 80 hours overtime a month. Most parents arrive home so late that they can’t have dinner with their kids, and they leave so early that they can’t enjoy breakfast with them. This has led to the Japanese people having a very weak sense of community with friends but mainly with family. And with 1% of their population being Christian, they didn’t celebrate Christmas.
That was until KFC.
Due to a bizarre marketing campaign with disputed origins almost every Japanese family gets a bucket of Kentucky Chicken for Christmas. Ordering weeks in advance, families gather around and feast on the 11 secret herbs and spices. This was and is nothing but a money-making scheme for KFC with 1/3 of their annual sales coming from this Christmas phenomenon. But for purely selfish reasons they have created a rare day where families spend time together over food.
A bucket of KFC is nothing fancy if not a bit greasy. But it represents a mutual, beneficial relationship of big business and its consumers – a rare thing today. I think more work should be put into achieving these kinds of relationships to see what comes out of them. But the bucket of KFC also represents that it doesn’t matter what food you eat as a family, as long as you’re together.
Marco, that was a finger-lickin good read.
I agree that it is not the food that makes the importance but the sentimental value the consumer makes of it.
What reminded me from reading this piece is Dr Emma Sharpe’s lecture in which she told us not to conform food in binary categories (good or bad). In my opinion, there is no food that is good or bad, whether you are a vegetarian or meat lover, I don’t think one should demonise one’s food habits as being bad if they do not conform to yours.
The nutritional value of KFC is unhealthy, but should it be labelled a ‘bad food’? Do we label food ‘bad’ because of their nutritional value, or is it also our own cultural, ethical, religious values?
“But the bucket of KFC also represents that it doesn’t matter what food you eat as a family, as long as you’re all…”
ALL WHAT, MARCO? Don’t leave the world hanging!
AHHH …….-Together. I shall try to fix it
Wow, what a nice picture 😀
But yes, as a commerce student I am thoroughly impressed with the extend of success that KFC had with their marketing scheme in Japan. It was incredible how they linked an unfamiliar foreign holiday with the main pop culture of the country.
I personally think that the association of KFC to Christimas isn’t fundamentally wrong in a country like Japan, as most people there from what I know isn’t Christian. Therefore popularising a forign holiday into a family and friends gathering might be like you said, a win-win position for both KFC and the increasing busy society of Japan.
This concept is actually amazing. There’s just something about the adoption of a Christian holiday as a day to eat something so inherently American, in a country that for centuries was purposefully closed to the West and its influence… Food really does bring us all together.
I love this post Marco, and always found the Japanese KFC Christmas one of the most bizarre and almost avant garde players of late capitalism. Is it American imperialism? Not really, because Americans wouldn’t eat KFC on Christmas, so it’s more like this weird glitch where globalisation and Western influence has reached a country through a different avenue, and an entirely new, distinctly Japanese tradition has been made out of it. Communities will always interpret influence in their own way.
Big businesses can actually have moments where they’re surprisingly in touch. I was really impressed by the ethical standards of the Blackmores business. I always get a bit spooked when big companies post memes on Twitter and stuff, but I guess it’s all a continuum. We live in an era where there’s a need for businesses to reflect our societies, cultures and traditions. As the market gains more control over our livelihoods and our politics, it begins to appear more humane, more like us. Of course there are bigger, much more serious implications to this, but there are occurrences such as KFC in Japan, which is really quite charming.
This was a great read. I remember when I first read about this phenomenon I was thoroughly confused. Interesting that you’ve pointed out the idea that the particular food itself doesn’t necessarily matter – as shown by many cultures throughout the world that all eat different foods but still eat together.