Nail polish is paint for nails. Most people would never consider eating their nail polish (although nail biters probably do). Parents of young children that want to use nail polish now have an option in Kid Licks food-based polishes. Since May 2016, grownups in Hong Kong that like fried chicken have also had the opportunity following the introduction of edible nail polish by Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Kid Licks nail polish is made from ingredients extracted from fruits, vegetables, and other plants and contains no synthetic polymers or pigments. The ingredients are organic, vegan, non-GMO and cruelty free, according to the company. There is a choice of colors, and the polishes dry to the touch within five minutes (they do take a few hours to fully cure). If kids don’t take them off themselves, they can be removed with water and a little scrubbing. One other key difference from regular nail polishes – Kid Licks polishes should be refrigerated because they are based on food and contain no preservatives. They do last about two months in the refrigerator, though, according to the company.
As part of a marketing campaign designed by marketing agency Ogilvy & Mather, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) initiated a marketing campaign in Hong Kong in May 2016 based around edible nail polish that taste like its products. The nail polish comes in two flavors and colors: Original (a beige) and Hot & Spicy (red). The nail polish is “sourced from natural ingredients,” according to KFC, and the recipe was developed with food technologists at McCormick, the spice company that provides KFC’s secret mix of 11 secret herbs and spices, to not only hold the flavor, but also dry with a glossy coat like conventional nail polish, according to Ogilvy & Mather creative director John Koay. Each polish comes in a “designer bottle and box.” The company has promoted the edible nail polish on social media and released a music video on YouTube. People in Hong Kong have also been asked to choose the best flavor to go into mass production.