By Waylon Cunningham

Feb 4 (Reuters) - KFC’s parent company in China reported aggressive growth in its digital loyalty programs, exceeding 590 million members – representing more than 40% of the country.

Yum China 9987.HK, which reported its 2025 earnings Wednesday, said unique membership in loyalty programs across KFC and Pizza Hut grew 13% since 2024, and that 55% of sales took place through them.

“This is insane,” said David Slavick, the founder of U.S.-based consultant firm Ascendant Loyalty Marketing. “That’s the largest loyalty program in the world.”

Yum China Holdings, a Shanghai-based spin-off of Yum Brands <YUM.N>, owns and franchises more than 18,000 stores in the country, including roughly 13,000 locations for KFC, which the company says is the largest restaurant chain in the country. It has pursued rapid expansion.

Consumers in China use digital payment apps to a much greater extent than in the U.S. and other consumer markets, a trend which has accelerated in recent years. "They were the early adopters," said Kate Hogenson, principal consultant at the Mallett Group, a brand-loyalty consulting firm.

Yum China's U.S.-listed shares YUMC.N were up 4%.

Yum China CEO Joey Wat told investors Wednesday that the KFC loyalty program is “really helping our long-term and short-term business,” pointing to growth in the chain’s KPRO brand, which it launched in 2017 as a healthier and more upscale version of KFC. Wat said 80 to 90% of KPRO’s sales come from KFC loyalty members.

Wat also said the company’s new AI ordering assistant for KFC app users, which completed its nationwide rollout in January, has been used by two million members so far, concentrated among diners ordering breakfast and coffee.

Industry experts say consumers in China use digital ordering apps more than their U.S. counterparts. The market for loyalty programs in China was valued at nearly $20 billion in 2025, and is expected to hit nearly $33 billion in 2029, a report from ResearchAndMarkets.com showed.

Yum China said 265 million users are active, meaning they have used the program in the last year.

The company’s brand-specific loyalty apps, as they do in the U.S., allow users to digital order meals and deliveries, as well as receiving discounts and personalized recommendations.

But unlike most restaurant brands in the U.S., consultants say, Yum China’s KFC app also has paid and invitation-only tiers in its membership program that provide free deliveries and prioritization in delivery queues.

(Reporting by Waylon Cunningham, Editing by Nick Zieminski)

((waylon.cunningham@tr.com))