FOX Business’ Cheryl Casone on KFC’s new donut and fried chicken sandwich.
Kentucky Fried Pez?
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Fried Oreos and Twinkies are popular at state fairs, but Pez hasn’t joined the club yet — but its signature dispensers are getting the Colonel’s touch. Kentucky Fried Chicken is getting into the Pez candy business just in time for Halloween.
The fried chicken fast-food chain announced on Wednesday that through a partnership with Funko, the public can buy a limited-edition Pop! PEZ Colonel Sanders candy dispenser, complete with the Colonel’s white beard and hair and signature eyeglasses.
Funko collectibles have gained increasing notoriety for their cartoonish renderings of some of pop culture’s most notorious figures, from comic book and Marvel Comics stalwart Stan Lee to the Golden Girls, Disney villains Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, Ursula, infamous Mistress of the Dark Elvira, and even painter and “The Joy of Painting” host Bob Ross.
“PEZ dispensers are as iconic as the Colonel and his signature white suit,” said Andrea Zahumensky, KFC U.S. chief marketing officer. “Now, even the Colonel will be giving out candy this Halloween.”
Pez dispensers “distribute” mini bricks of candy by pushing back the head of the figure on top of a candy “tower.”
KFC and Funko have a bit of a history having collaborated on a Colonel Sanders-inspired PEZ dispenser, with the two companies releasing a limited-edition Colonel Sanders Pop! Funko figurine earlier this year that sold out on the Funko’s website online shop in a mere 11 minutes.
But now with the advent of Funko’s newest Colonel Sanders candy dispensing figurine offering, fans of the fried chicken chain and sugary dispensable candy can once again get a collectible Colonel Sanders Pop! PEZ dispenser for themselves.
“It’s not a savory bucket of fried chicken, yet the new Colonel Sanders Pop! PEZ is a sweet addition to our line of ad icons, and we’re thrilled to have him join the Pop! PEZ family,” Molly Hartney, Funko chief marketing officer said in a statement.
The limited-edition Colonel Sanders Pop! PEZ dispenser goes for $5.99 on Amazon and select retailers, from Barnes and Noble to PEZ.com, with limited quantities available for sale.
Funko, who makes everything from collectible bobbleheads to other figurines, has had a breakout 2019 fiscal year, with first-quarter net sales increasing 22 percent to $166.8 million, gross profit increased from 24 percent to $63.5 million. Meanwhile, the company expects net sales to be in a range of $810 million to $825 million by the end of the year, according to Funko’s First Quarter 2019 Financial Results.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YUM | YUM! BRANDS | 109.27 | -0.83 | -0.75% |
| FNKO | FUNKO, INC. | 17.64 | -0.31 | -1.73% |
Founded in 1930, Kentucky Fried Chicken currently has a brand value of $8.5 billion with 22,600 KFC locations in 135 different countries worldwide and was recently rated number 86 on Forbes World’s Most Valuable Brands for 2019. Now part of Yum Brands, in its most recent earnings report the food giant — which also owns Pizza Hut and Taco Bell — KFC was praised by its CEO for contributing to a winning quarter.
“First-quarter results were a solid start to the year, reflecting particular strength at the KFC division and Taco Bell U.S.,” CEO Greg Creed said in a statement. KFC makes up the biggest share of Yum’s revenue and in the last earnings reported same-store sales growth of 5 percent beating estimates of 2.74 percent.
