It is a beautiful world in which we try to keep the mountains alive, bent in two by the melting of glaciers and indiscriminate tourism, while, on those same mountains, agreements are made with multinationals. Which aren’t even multinationals to say, I don’t know, dumplings or Belluno polenta. And no. They are multinationals of fried chicken.
As if to mean: your problems if you see a great, great inconsistency if KFC arrives on the ski slopes of Cortina d’Ampezzo, already proven by the past Winter Olympics, and Madonna di Campiglio. That’s right: on the one hand our snow-capped peaks envied all over the world, on the other the fried chicken giant (broilers represent – perhaps it is worth repeating – the largest category of farmed animals in the world and the conditions in which they grow have direct consequences not only on their well-being, but also on public health).
In short, given that it’s snow, it’s a really good slide.
KFC opens on our slopes
The news comes directly from the American fast food chain, which announces its debut on the Italian ski slopes for the 2026-2027 winter season. Two new openings – scheduled for December 5th – both directly managed and created in collaboration with Super G: one in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the other in Madonna di Campiglio.
@KFC
In Cortina, KFC will be installed at 2,123 meters above sea level, in the Monte Faloria-Cristallo area, inside the Faloria Mountain Club. In Madonna di Campiglio, however, the fried chicken will arrive at 1,700 meters, in the Piana di Nambino area. According to what was communicated, they will remain operational until the end of the ski season.
The menu will bring to high altitude a selection of the brand’s most loved products – we read in the note which is nothing short of high-sounding – from the Tender Crispy, crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, to the Spicy Wings, passing through sandwiches, side dishes and of course the iconic Buckets. A proposal designed to accompany every moment of the day on the snow: from the snack between one slope and another to lunch with a view of the mountains, up to the break before immersing yourself in the energy of après-ski.
We have shivers. And not cold.
Fried chicken and that “premium” experience at high altitude
In the press release, KFC defines the operation as a turning point for hospitality in the mountains and explains that the collaboration with Super G was born from the desire to “accommodate the new habits of travellers”, transforming high altitude into a “constantly evolving ecosystem“.
The declared objective is to reach new consumers, especially younger ones, by offering an experience different from that traditionally associated with ski resorts.
Gen Z has always been one of our most loyal audiences, but we want to continue to expand the community and also dialogue with a more transversal audience, from young families to mountain enthusiasts. The high altitude allows us to do this through a new format, which strengthens the premium positioning of the brand, explains Marzia Farè, Chief Marketing Officer of KFC Italia.
And so, gentlemen, while we fill our mouths with sustainable tourism, protection of the mountains and valorization of local excellences, truckloads of fried chicken arrive on the slopes in super maxi buckets. Because evidently, between a disappearing glacier and a struggling ecosystem, what our mountains were missing was a nice American fast food restaurant at two thousand metres.
And patience for gastronomic traditions, for small local businesses, for that mountain that should be preserved rather than transformed into yet another showcase for global brands.
They tell us that tourism is changing, that it is the new needs of consumers, that we need to keep up with the times. Will be. But by keeping up with the times, we wouldn’t want the mountain to ultimately remain only the view to be admired while biting into a chicken wing. Naturally fried. And premium.
