International Journal of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting ISSN 2577-767X Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 319-335 2023 DOI: 10.33094/ijaefa.v16i2.987 © 2023 by the authors; licensee Online Academic Press, USA 319 © 2023 by the authors; licensee Online Academic Press, USA Influence brand awareness and brand association on brand equity: Mediation of trust and brand loyalty in Kentucky Fried Chicken in East Java, Indonesia Sugiarti 1* Surachman 2 Fathur Rohman 3 Risna Wijayanti 4 1,2,3,4 Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Brawijaya, Indonesia. 1 Email: meyartie88@gmail.com 2 Email: surachman@ub.ac.id 3 Email: fathur_rahman@ub.ac.id 4 Email: risna_wijayanti@yahoo.com Licensed: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Keywords: Association Awareness Loyalty and brand equity Trust. JEL Classification: M3; M31; M37. Received: 24 February 2023 Revised: 13 April 2023 Accepted: 28 April 2023 Published: 22 May 2023 (* Corresponding Author) Abstract The aim of this study is to empirically prove how trust and loyalty mediate the effect of brand awareness and association on the brand equity of Kentucky Fried Chicken in East Java. The research sample consists of 200 customers, and data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling. The results of the study show that brand awareness and associations have an effect on trust, loyalty, and brand equity. Trust and brand loyalty are found to mediate the influence of brand awareness and associations on brand equity. These findings contribute to the development of consumer brand relationship theory, which suggests that an emotional connection between fast food brands and customers can lead to strong brand equity. In the case of KFC, brand equity is strengthened through brand awareness and association, which in turn create trust and brand loyalty. The implications of these results for KFC management in East Java are that they should focus on increasing the popularity of the KFC brand through content marketing, sponsoring various activities, and using endorsers to ensure that customers always remember KFC as a fast-food brand. KFC outlets in East Java consistently maintain the quality of their products and always maintain good relationships with customers, so that customers are willing to recommend KFC to others. Funding: This study received no specific financial support. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 1. Introduction Business is growing more rapidly in the age of globalization, which is characterized by an increase in the level of fierce competition between businesses, including fast food restaurants. In the 19 th century, when the United States entered the industrial period, long working hours and few breaks for many employees led to the early emergence of fast-food restaurants. This is the reason why many people switched to fast food, such as fried chicken, nuggets, burgers, and sausages. Some of the fast-food restaurants that originated in the United States include KFC, McDonald, Texas Chicken, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Roy Allen & Frank Wright A&W, and Wendy's. The development of fast-food outlets has also spread to Southeast Asia, with trademarks such as Pepper Luch and Ajisen Ramen in Singapore, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), California Fried Chicken (CFC), and Richeese Factory in Indonesia. In Indonesia, there are many fast-food restaurants, which leads to intense competition over product quality. The competition among fast food like KFC, CFC, McDonald's, Texas Chicken, and A&W is particularly fierce, as these companies are vying for the best place in the eyes of the general public and their clientele. Accurate poll results are compiled by the Top Brand Award, a prestigious event that serves as an indicator of consumer awareness of fast-food brands. Table 1 shows the Top Brand Gen-Z Index findings for the Fast-Food Restaurant category in 2021 and 2022: Table 1 shows the results of the Top Brand Gen-Z Index for 2021 and 2022 in the Fast-food restaurant category, KFC is ranked number two under McDonald's. This phenomenon shows that KFC's brand equity as a fast-food chain is still below that of MC Donald's. This phenomenon is interesting for further research related to KFC's brand equity as fast food chain. Kotler and Keller (2012) revealed that brands that have value can create brand equity, which has an impact on the superiority of the brand when compared to other brands.