Yum! Brands owns the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell fast-food franchises.
The company was created in 1997 when PepsiCo separated its restaurant businesses into an independent company called Tricon Global Restaurants. Tricon changed its name to Yum! Brands in 2002, reflecting its multi-brand restaurant portfolio.
KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell remain the company’s best-known global brands. Yum! Brands generally operates through a combination of company-owned restaurants, franchisees, and licensees, with franchised and licensed locations making up most of its worldwide system.
A common mix-up is confusing Yum! Brands with Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons. Yum! Brands also owns The Habit Burger Grill, acquired in 2020, and previously operated A&W Restaurants and Long John Silver’s before selling those brands in 2011.