Yum China Reaffirms its Commitment to Reducing Food Waste with Food Bank Program

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Oct 18, 2021, 06:15 ET

SHANGHAI, Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China", NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing food waste through the gradual expansion of its existing pilot Food Bank program to cover more stores and cities across China. The program works in cooperation with local authorities to distribute surplus food at stores to nearby residents in need.

Yum China has been working on reducing food waste by employing technology, such as AI and IoT, to improve sales forecasting accuracy and inventory management. As store traffic is affected by many variable factors such as the weather, stores may occasionally have food left unsold. In September 2020, KFC launched its pilot Food Bank program in Shenzhen to distribute surplus food for free to nearby residents in need. As of the end of September 2021, the Food Bank program covers over 100 KFC restaurants in 18 cities.

"At Yum China, we not only focus on active management with our AI-empowered system, but also adopt innovative approaches, to help reduce food waste," said Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China. "Realizing the positive impacts of reducing food waste requires collaboration and partnership. We will continue to engage our customers and other stakeholders to mitigate food waste which in turn will benefit the economy, environment and society."

The Food Bank program involves establishing food bank pick-up stations at participating stores to ensure that unsold food in the store that day is properly collected, packaged and frozen. Information such as the date of deposit and the consumption guidelines are clearly marked on each packaging bag.

The Food Bank program is designed to support China's national campaign against food waste and contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goal for responsible consumption and production. Meanwhile, Yum China actively supports China's government-led "Empty Your Plate" campaign to eliminate food waste, with anti-food waste posters and slogans prominently displayed in stores.

Yum China strives to establish a responsible ecosystem by building sustainable restaurants, creating a sustainable supply chain with partners, and building sustainable communities with all stakeholders. In combination with several other waste reduction initiatives already implemented by Yum China, the Food Bank program is an important initiative for the Company to reduce food waste and contribute to building a responsible and sustainable society.

Forward-Looking Statements

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About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 11,023 restaurants in over 1,500 cities at the end of June 2021. Yum China ranked # 363 on the Fortune 500 list and was named to TIME100 Most Influential Companies list in 2021. Yum China has been named the Industry Leader for the Restaurant & Leisure Facilities Industry in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. In 2021, Yum China was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer 2021 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the third consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.