Hyundai India and KFC have a lot to lose in India if they keep treading the same path
Hyundai, KFC, Pizza Hut, Kia crossed the fine line from doing business to taking a controversial political stand with posts sent out by their dealers.
Many multinational consumer brands are facing the heat in India for treading the wrong path. These brands are paying the price for showing solidarity with Pakistan on 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' celebrated every year on February 5.
Brands like Hyundai, KFC, Pizza Hut, Kia crossed the fine line from doing business and consumerism to taking a controversial political stand, with posts sent out by their dealers and outlets in Pakistan.
Hyundai and Kia
Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia had written tweets and Instagram/Facebook posts on February 5 which led to a major social media backlash.
Hashtags such as #BoycottKiaMotors, #BoycottKFC, #HyundaiWithTerrorist and #HyundaiMustApologise started trending on Twitter amid a surge in nationalistic sentiments in favour of local Indian brands such as Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra.
Seeing the backlash, Hyundai Motor India Ltd in a statement said that it stands firmly for its 'strong ethos of respecting nationalism'. While the posts have been deleted now, Indian Twitter users called out the companies and posted screenshots of the posts on Twitter.
KFC and Pizza Hut
American multinational restaurant chains, KFC and Pizza Hut also came under attack on Monday after social media posts from their Pakistan social media handles on Kashmir surfaced. This comes a day after carmaker Hyundai and Kia was caught in the similar controversy.
Indian users posted screenshots of the posts, which have now been removed from the social media handles of both the companies. The posts reportedly spoke about 'freedom' of Kashmir on February 5, which Pakistan observes as 'Kashmir Solidarity Day'.
KFC Pakistan's social media handle post read, "Their cravings for freedom are heartfelt."
The post from Pizza Hut Pakistan handle said, "This Kashmir Solidarity Day, let's join hands and stand united for the freedom of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters."
Meanwhile, KFC India released a statement apologising for the post. In a tweet, it said, "We deeply apologise for a post that was published on some KFC social media channels outside the country. We honour and respect India, and remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all Indians with pride."
The stakes
But the damage has been done. Hyundai Motor India, the second-largest carmaker in the country after Maruti Suzuki India currently sells 12 models.
US-based quick service restaurant chain Yum Brands Inc last year reported an over two-fold jump in system sales of KFC and Pizza Hut in India.
During FY 2020-21, KFC registered a growth of 150% to Rs 4,147 crore, while it disbursed Rs 3,709 crore. The total income grew to Rs 491 crore.
The KFC system sales growth was 221% and 163% for Pizza Hut in Q2 period in India for 2021.
KFC had officially entered the Indian market in June 1995 by opening a restaurant in Bengaluru.
Now, it operates over 450 stores in India through its franchise partners, which includes RJ Corp-owned Devyani International and Sapphire Foods.
Pizza Hut had forayed into India in June 1996. It operates around 500 stores through its franchise partners.