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November 29, 2005
A Little Cultural Tidbit
Although it is a couple of weeks old, I was reminded of this story today and I thought I would pass it on because it is funny and it says something interesting about both marketing and human nature. The company for which I work part time is led by US citizens who were born in China, The Peoples Republic China. The small work force of mostly engineers has a very international flavor but perhaps a greater number of people of Chinese extraction than one might find in the average American company.
One of our male engineers went on a visit to China and while there got married. Of course, he brought his bride here to make their new home together in Orange County. But she had a hard time with cultural shock. A couple of our female engineers, also from China, befriended her and tried to smooth her way into American culture. They knew that all things Chinese were available here and they also knew how to access them. So in the course of trying to help the young bride they asked her what she missed most about China. And the answer truly shocked them,
"Kentucky Fried Chicken!"
Now it turns out that KFC in Shanghai tastes different from KFC in Irvine, California. At a minimum, the mixture of "11 herbs and spices" is adjusted to match local tastes in international markets. It's even possible that in China KFC uses more than 11 herbs and spices. So dining at her local Irvine KFC was a negative experience and one that her new friends couldn't do anything about. While its easy to get Americanized Chinese food almost anywhere, getting Chinesized American food turns out to be nearly impossible.
At last report, this new member of our company's extended family was doing better but she still hated good old American KFC.
Posted by Duane Smith at November 29, 2005 8:50 PM | Read more on Odds and Ends |
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