Less than a month ago, McDonald’s “CFC” campaign for its cage-free chicken provoked KFC to respond with a campaign which includes slogans like “good fried chicken has flakes” in a dig at McDonald’s foregoing the flaky triple dipping for their wings back in 2023. Now the “big two” of the international fast-food chains in China go head-to-head again. This time, over pies as both McDonald’s and KFC are launching Pi Day campaigns in China.
For us in the West, of course, pies are a McD thing, just as chicken is the “C” in KFC. As McDonald’s goes behind enemy lines with its chicken, pies seem to have become fair game for KFC as well. On 1 March, KFC fired the first shot in the battle over Pi Day 2025 by announcing its campaign for the pastry this month: “crazy March pies”, “pie ≠ π” and “cheaper than 3.14” at 3 RMB (0.41 USD). 3.14 being 14 March and often used by McDonald’s for its Pie Day pricing at 3.14 RMB (0.43 USD). However, it needs to be pointed out that it’s not the first time KFC has launched pies in China.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s home turf Pi Day campaign in China is much more elaborate. The fast-food giant first teased on 5 March that it would be releasing its latest AI product before unveiling the pie-themed chatbot P.AI where users can interact and win prizes with a pool of 90,000 RMB (12,395.84 USD). The pie offering includes a brand-new matcha black sugar mochi flavour for 6.66 RMB (0.92 USD) and the two classics, the pineapple pie and the taro pie, reduced to 3.14 RMB (0.43 USD).
Both chains offer very competitive prices for their pies. This is, of course, a win for pie-loving consumers. But the CFC and P.AI campaigns are also a sign of McDonald’s deepening its localisation, aiming to enter the “meme-tic” marketing world occupied by KFC. With both brands facing pressure to expand and the profitability of franchises, competition has become more than just a gimmick.
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