If we in France have our traditional foie gras, capon, oysters at Christmas… In Japan, the tradition is KFC fried chicken. Yes a fast food, but how this dish became the essential dish for Christmas in Japan? Explanation.
Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas in Japan
Over the past four decades, KFC has managed to make fried chicken synonymous with Christmas in the country through meticulous marketing.
Since only 1-2% of the Japanese population is Christian, the country did not have many well-established Christmas traditions.
In 1970, just a few months after the first KFC opened, Takeshi Okawara, who ran the first KFC restaurant in Japan, came up with the idea of selling a Christmas “party barrel” after hearing foreigners in his KFC lamenting that they couldn’t eat turkey in Japan for Christmas. That’s when he came up with the idea of replacing that turkey with fried chicken.
The promotion became national in Japan in 1974 under the name of Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii which means Kentucky for Christmas (i.e. KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken).
Joonas Rokka, associate professor of marketing at Em Lyon Business School, told the BBC that the campaign“filled a void.” “There wasno Christmas tradition in Japan, and KFC came in and said, ‘This is what you should do at Christmas,'” he said. “Bingo, it met the expectations of the Japanese.
In our article, Christmas in Japan, what do we eat? We describe what Japanese people used to eat for Christmas.
3.6 million Japanese families eat KFC at Christmas
Nowadays, Japanese people could be lining up if they don’t pre-order their Christmas meals from KFC. Namely, about 3.6 million Japanese families consume KFC during the Christmas season, reported the BBC.
As a French person, it is unthinkable to eat in a fast food restaurant at Christmas. However, the Japanese see it as a tradition to reunite the family. Moreover, they are very influenced by marketing, KFC does not hesitate to promote with more and more elaborate dishes. Chocolate cakes or Japanese strawberries cake, champagne, salads now accompany this meal.