KFC grew from Harland Sanders’s roadside fried chicken business near Corbin, Kentucky, into a global fast food chain centered on fried chicken and sandwiches. After adapting a pressure cooker into a pressure fryer in 1939 and finalizing his Original Recipe seasoning in 1940, Sanders entered franchising in 1952. The brand expanded rapidly, helped define chicken as a major fast food category, and by 1963 had become the largest fast food operation in the United States. Later passing through several corporate owners, it became part of Yum! Brands. Its Kentucky roots, bucket meal, and Colonel Sanders image remain central to its worldwide identity.