Teen seeks new logo after ‘shocking’ KFC demand

Yang’s Fried Chicken, run by a 17-year-old in Christchurch, is at the centre of a logo dispute with KFC. Photo / RNZ

A 17-year-old entrepreneur has launched an appeal on social media to find a “unique” design for his fried chicken business after being instructed to rebrand by fast-food giant KFC.

High school student Ben Yang runs Yang’s Fried Chicken from a food truck, selling Korean fried chicken, bubble tea and dessert in Riccarton, Christchurch.

Yang started the business in a physical store last year before moving it to a food truck in February.

The teenager would work in the food truck after school every day and during the holidays, with his mother – and occasionally his grandmother – involved in the operation.

The food truck’s logo features an illustration of Yang wearing a red suit on a red background with “YFC” in white font.

In June, Yang received a stack of legal documents from KFC that left him stunned.

“It’s quite shocking to see that KFC, this really big brand, would find out about this small food truck that’s just parked down the road ... and just send legal documents without ... talking to us beforehand, without any communication,” he said.

Yang was initially given a deadline of July 2 to rebrand his operation and cease using “YFC”, but it has since been extended to early August.

Yang has called on designers to submit ideas for a new logo before July 13, promising the winner a lifetime supply of free fried chicken.

He said followers of the campaign could vote for their favourite design on Instagram.

“It’s pretty good to see that there’s a lot of involvement within the community towards this,” he said.

Yang hoped to franchise his brand in future, wanting to open stores in Auckland and other cities.

Born in Christchurch, Yang has been raised in the Garden City by his Chinese mother.

Yang’s South Korean father died when he was just 1 year old, and he would often visit his grandparents in the port city of Busan.

The fried chicken his grandparents made him on such visits inspired Yang to start his business.

“There’s a bit of me just learning online and ... I kind of perfected it, like taking some parts of that one, mixing it with my one and then making an overall better recipe, I guess,” he said.

Ben’s mother, Kathy Qiu, said Yang had worked hard from a young age.

Yang had opened the fried chicken operation partly to give Qiu a job after being out of work, she said.

“He’s very busy with the shop,” she said. “He had to go back to study, and he still does well in his studies.”

She said the logo did look a little similar to KFC’s iconic design.

“If we need to change it, we will,” she said. “We’re preparing to change the logo.”

KFC said it was unable to comment on the matter.