YUM! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with more than 36,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories and more than 1 million associates. Yum! is ranked #239 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues in excess of $11 billion in 2008. Four of our restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza, Mexican-style food and quick-service seafood categories.

http://www.yum.com/company/ourbrands.asp

At Yum! we're building a vibrant global business by focusing on four key business strategies:

* Build leading brands across China in every significant category
* Drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere
* Dramatically improve U.S. brand positions, consistency and returns
* Drive industry-leading, long-term shareholder and franchisee value

David C. Novak became Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2001, and Chief Executive Officer of Yum! on January 1, 2000. He also serves as President of Yum!, a position he has held since October 21, 1997. He previously served as Group President and Chief Executive Officer, KFC and Pizza Hut from August 1996 to July 1997, at which time he became acting Vice Chairman of Yum!. He also held senior management positions at Pepsi-Cola Company, including Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales.

With more than 36,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories, Yum! Brands international growth sees no signs of stopping as we continue to enter international markets, introducing people around the world to our winning brands.


Statement from Yum! regarding External Consultation on animal Welfare:

While our standards for animal welfare are high, we always seek knowledge from external sources to improve our practices where appropriate. In the U.S., KFC has enlisted the assistance of the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) in an effort to clarify and further define poultry welfare criteria, policy and audit points. Yum! serves on two AAAP Welfare subcommittees, exploring questions concerning poultry welfare. We were also a prominent player in the joint effort conducted by the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the Food Marketing Institute to develop comprehensive guidelines for all species of farm animals. We also have a veterinarian on staff in the U.S. who provides oversight on animal welfare practices.

Supplier Audits

Our goal is to work with suppliers who maintain our high standards and share our commitment to animal welfare. We monitor our suppliers on a continuous basis through audits to determine whether they are using procedures that ensure respectful caring for, and handling of, animals they supply to us. Audits are conducted at two levels:

* Farm level - In the U.S., KFC manages a farm-level audit program for the breeding, hatching and raising of poultry. The program exceeds the standards set by the U.S. Chicken Council and the Food Marketing Institute. Beginning in 2005, all of our suppliers completed farm-level audits. This marked the beginning of a continuous, bi-annual audit program for all supplier locations in the U.S. based on standards developed by leading animal welfare experts at the direction of the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the Food Marketing Institute.
* Processing level - In 2000, KFC adopted specific, comprehensive welfare performance standards for processing chickens and audits its suppliers against those standards. The processing guidelines and audits are designed to monitor and manage each step of the process to determine whether the birds supplied to us are handled humanely and their suffering is minimized. KFC audits its suppliers for compliance, with non-compliance potentially resulting in termination of the supplier's contract. We have engaged the Professional Animal Auditors Certification Organization (PAACO) to enhance our auditing standards systemwide in our processing facilities. It is our goal to conduct 100-percent external PAACO audits of our poultry processing facilities in the U.S. in 2008.

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More Yum Brands Info: Expanding in China

As of now, the United States accounts for 41% of Yum’s operating profits. China accounts for 28% and the rest of the company’s operations around the world account for the remaining 31%.

By 2013, China will account for 40% of Yum’s operating profit, while the United States and the rest of the world will each account for a 30% share, according to company projections.

As this plays out, Yum should outdistance some of its rivals, especially McDonald’s Corp. (MCD). That’s because Yum has done a better job penetrating the China market.

From 2002 to 2007, Yum opened 1,678 new stores in China, for a total of 2,558. In that same span, McDonald’s added 330 stores, giving the Golden Arches’ owner a total of 876 stores in China.

Yum has even stolen McDonald’s thunder in the mascot department. Its KFC mascot, a chicken character (naturally) named “Chicky,” roams stores and interacts with children. And the company’s Chicky program includes in-store birthday parties, kids’ fun camp and school tours of its stores. No wonder that Novak, the Yum CEO, boasted to Business Week two years ago that Chicky had already become “the Ronald McDonald of China.”

http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/12/22/david-novak/


World Food Programme (WFP) is the food aid arm of the United Nations system. Food aid is one of the many instruments that can help to promote food security, which is defined as access of all people at all times to the food needed for an active and healthy life.