04/16 RICK MAYNARD, KFC, MONTY PAULSEN, PAT PAULSEN VINEYARDS

RICK MAYNARD - COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR OF KFC

“No mess. No fuss. No bones about it.” That’s the new mantra at Kentucky Fried Chicken corporate headquarters these days, according to Jason Marker, KFC’s chief marketing officer in the U.S. “It’s just a very simple expression of where we’re going.” Indeed, on Sunday, KFC rolled out Original Recipe boneless chicken in all 4,500 of its U.S. locations.

But this modest innovation may not be just another new offering in a long line of new offerings. Executives at the 61-year-old franchise – long associated with family-sized buckets of traditional fried chicken — are so convinced that boneless chicken is the next big thing that they are starting to envision a KFC that doesn’t have on-the-bone chicken on its menu at all. (MORE: The Real Significance of the Bitcoin Boom (and Bust))

Marker acknowledges that the chain’s customer base is aging, and that off-the-bone chicken is critical if the brand is to stay relevant and contemporary. “We joke a lot that young people today barely know that chicken has bones in it because of all the forms and formats that we eat it in,” he says. “We’ve got to make sure we meet the needs of those people.” In short, they’re trying to cater to the McNugget Generation.

Back in the 1970s, when most of us still ate chicken that looked like chicken, the industry’s processors were already working on ways to squeeze profit out of their product. Chicken historically offered meager profit margins — around 2%, says Steve Striffler, a University of New Orleans professor and author of Chicken: The Dangerous Transformation of America’s Favorite Food. For decades the only way processors could increase those margins was through mergers or acquisitions. But by the ‘70s, Tyson and other industry giants realized they needed to do more with the chicken itself.



Monty Paulsen - Winemaker at Pat Paulsen Vineyards

Founded by Sonoma County vintner Pat Paulsen and his wife Jane in 1976, Pat Paulsen Vineyards garnered tremendous praise and a wide following, establishing itself as one of the first successful and well-respected of what later has come to be known as “celebrity-owned” wineries. The flagship wine, an Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the Paulsen Estate Vineyard earned many gold medals throughout the years, taking “Best of Show” awards at prestigious competitions.

SAN FRANCISCO WINE COMPETITION RECENTLY AWARDED PAT PAULSEN VINEYARDS NINE MEDALS! We are delighted to have five silver medals for our Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Alexander Valley Merlot, Red Reserve ParthenOgenesis and North Coast Syrah. PPV Spring Cabernet and Jesse's Vineyard Zinfandel, Heritage Selection Odyssey and MioVigneto white desert wine took home Bronze medals. Congrats to Monty and our guest vintner Dwight Busalacchi (MioVigneto) and Stephanie Jackson (Jesse's Vineyard Zinfandel) who we have collaborated with this past year. More wine, more time, more magic!