Nudge

The Secret Behind KFC’s Success

Nudge

Show Notes

KFC keeps its recipe secret.

It’s stored in a vault in an unknown location.

Only two KFC executives know the ingredients.

Neither are allowed to fly on the same plane.

But this secrecy is illogical. The recipe isn’t important.

Today on Nudge, Richard Shotton explains how the secrecy makes customers more loyal.

He shares his favourite ad of all time, and we run one of his experiments on you.

---

Read Richard’s book: https://a.co/d/fEW7amQ

Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.nudgepodcast.com/mailing-list

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phill-agnew-22213187/

Watch Nudge on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nudgepodcast/

---

Today’s sources:

Heimbach, J. T., & Jacoby, J. (1972). The Zeigarnik effect in advertising. Advances in Consumer Research: Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association for Consumer Research, 746–757.

Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), 75–98.Zeigarnik, B. (1927). Über das Behalten von erledigten und unerledigten Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung, 9(1), 1–85.

More from Nudge

Oct 19, 2026

When Greece beat France in Euro 2004, the stock market shifted. When Allbirds rebranded as an AI company, its stock rose 600%. When British radio plays happy music, the FTSE improves.

Oct 12, 2026

I think Sam Altman of OpenAI has deliberately tried to build his fame.

Oct 5, 2026

Wiebe Wakker spent three years driving from the Netherlands to Australia.

Sep 28, 2026

Are men who are insecure about their manhood more likely to buy sports cars?

Sep 21, 2026

Every weekend, thousands of Brits order takeaways from independent restaurants.

See all episodes →