KFC Canada to test bamboo packaging for poutine starting next year
KFC Canada wants to serve up chicken in bamboo buckets eventually, but the fast food chain will start next year with poutine after it finds the right product for its pilot.
“We want our customers to feel that KFC is dedicated to, not only providing finger lickin’ good chicken in every bucket, but also delivering it in a way that our guests can feel good about,” said Armando Carrillo, KFC Canada’s innovation manager, in a statement Tuesday.
The company’s sustainability commitment, which includes sourcing all of its fibre-based packaging from certified or recycled sources by next year, will see it testing new, innovative materials, it said in a statement.
KFC Canada says bamboo buckets will be available at some of the company’s more than 600 Canadian restaurants starting in early 2020.
Just how early is still up in the air.
“It will depend on how quickly we can work with suppliers to find a bamboo bucket option that maintains the integrity (of) the product while also achieving our sustainable goals,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.
The restaurant chain said it will strive to have buckets that are compostable but will at the very least ensure they are recyclable or reusable.
Since different Canadian jurisdictions have different recycling and composting rules, it can be difficult for companies to make sure their products are recyclable or compostable across the country.
Whether the bamboo bucket will meet those requirements Canada-wide “is something we will need to investigate as we move forward with viable prototypes, but it will be recyclable where facilities permit,” it said.