KFC supplier sells chicken for £1 to shift excess produce despite shortages in nearby branches

The country struggling to cope with the chicken scandal

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A factory that supplies produce for KFC had to resort to selling chicken for as little as £1 after an order of 20,000 pieces was returned, despite reported chicken shortages in branches of the fast food restaurant across the country.

The factory, owned by Moy Park, had sent the 20,000-piece order to a DHL delivery depot in Rugby 82 miles away, before the entire order was returned.

When the 179 crates of chicken arrived back at the factory in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, employees were forced to sell chicken at bargain prices in the factory shop in order to shift produce.

Nine pieces of chicken were sold altogether for £1. In comparison, a bucket of six pieces is priced at £9.99 on the KFC menu.

Despite the abundance of chicken that arrived back at the factory, a number of KFC branches nearby remained closed.

Last week, the Lincolnshire Live reported that all KFC stores in Lincolnshire had closed their doors to customers as there had been issues with the deliveries of fresh chicken.

A KFC spokesperson has explained how the factory coped when the overwhelmingly large order of chicken was returned, which was reported by The Sun.

“Following the initial disruption, we adjusted our orders to ensure that stock levels of fresh chicken at the depot, before being delivered to restaurants, were manageable,” the KFC spokesperson told The Independent.

“It is not uncommon for excess stock to be returned to the supplier, and for suppliers to sell stock directly to customers and staff.

“The chicken may have been labelled as KFC, and while we’re sure it was tasty, it would not have been blended with our signature herbs and spices that our fans across the UK and Ireland love.”

KFC has set up a page on their website that specifically addresses the chicken shortage issue, helping customers to find their nearest open KFC restaurant.

“A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It’s not ideal,” the web page reads.

“Huge apologies to our customers. It’s been a hell of a week, but we’re making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants.

“Thank you for bearing with us.”

According to KFC, the problems surrounding the delivery of their chicken in divisions across the country have arisen due to “teething problems” that they’ve experienced with a new delivery partner.