Fast Food in Ethiopia, KFC, PizzaHut

Ethiopian shipping and logistics services enterprise logo.

By Kaleyesus Bekele. The global fast food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), is going to open fast food restaurants in Addis Ababa next year, it was learnt. A source close to the company told The Reporter that KFC is under preparation to open unspecific number of restaurants in Addis Ababa in 2016. The source said executives of KFC are holding talks to local suppliers in Ethiopia. “They are very serious about Ethiopian market,” he said. If everything goes well KFC will be the first global food chain to enter the Ethiopian market. The number of restaurants that KFC is going to open in Addis Ababa is not yet known. However, the company would open its doors in Addis Ababa next year. It will also branch out in the regional states in the coming years, if everything goes as planned. Owned by Yum! Brands Inc, KFC fast-food chain has over 18,000 outlets in 120 countries across the world. KFC operates in 13 sub-Saharan African countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. South Africa and Nigeria are the largest markets in the region. In South Africa alone KFC has 700 restaurants. Yum! Brands Inc has its sub-Saharan regional office in South Africa. KFC entered Ugandan market two years ago and now it operates ten restaurants in Kampala. It recently started operation in Tanzania and it runs several outlets in Kenya. “Now it is coming to Ethiopia. The company is expanding its portfolio in Africa,” a source said. Last year Yum’s regional manager for Africa, Bruce Layzell, said that with a population of 90 million Ethiopia is attractive. “We don’t want to go to a country where we can only build four or five restaurants, because that will not deliver anyone success. We want to go in and build 50 to 100 outlets; our business is a scale game,” Layzell stated. The company that has annual revenue of three billion dollars has a strong position in China. The KFC chain receives half of its revenue from China, where it operates in more than 4,000 outlets. KFC was one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. KFC specializes in fried chicken and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. Other products include chicken sandwiches, Wraps, French fries, Soft drinks, Salads, Desserts and Breakfast. Founded by Colonel Harland D. Sanders in 1930, it is the world's second largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's. I guess it's the first worldwide fast food chain restaurant coming to Ethiopia . (I was not sure whether or not to give it it's own thread) KFC to open outlets in Addis Ababa. I guess it's the first worldwide fast food chain restaurant coming to Ethiopia . (I was not sure whether or not to give it it's own thread) KFC is well-known for its junk-food (worst than Mcdo).

don't need to give any details. but, KFC could beef-up the local agribusiness : the Ethiopian Doro (100% organic) tastes far better than the disgusting American chicken wing, raised with hormones, antibiotic, drugs and plenty of artificial stuffs. As long as KFC only uses local products (bread, chicken, potatoes, etc. ) they may strengthen and create some opportunities for locals farmers and businesses : jobs, incomes, tax revenues for gov etc. If true, i wish they sell locally-cooked chicken wings, burgers etc. rather than importing the American crap. Pizza Hut is set to open three outlets in Ethiopia this year, becoming one of the first international restaurant chains to enter Africa’s second-most populous country. The restaurants are scheduled to begin serving in the capital, Addis Ababa, by November, franchisee Aschalew Belay said in an interview Monday. Aschalew’s company, Belayab Foods and Franchise, will run the local outlets of the Yum! Brands Inc. pizzeria and will have invested $5.5 million in the operations by next year, according to his partner, Michael Ghebru. The agreement allows for as many as 10 outlets, he said. Ethiopia is an attractive destination because of its cheap labor and electricity, said Michael, who will run the franchise and initially hold a 15 percent stake. There are “no major” food franchises in Addis Ababa, making competition “non-existent,” he said. Ethiopian openings are part of a wider expansion under which Pizza Hut plans to boost its number of sub-Saharan Africa outlets to 100 by end-2017 from about 70, according to the company’s incoming general manager for Africa, Ewan Davenport. About half of Pizza Hut’s business on the continent is in South Africa, where it opened in 2015, with outlets in Angola and at Camp Lemonnier, a U.S. military base in Djibouti, the top performers elsewhere, he said in an interview. He didn’t give figures. Ghana, which has three Pizza Huts, is “absolutely firing,” with the partner looking to expand to neighboring countries such as Togo, Davenport said. Ethiopia’s economy is forecast to grow 7.5 percent this year, the second-fastest pace in sub-Saharan Africa after Ivory Coast, according to the International Monetary Fund. The government’s growth plan seeks to turn Ethiopia into a lower-middle income country by 2025. The World Bank says per capita income of $590 is substantially lower than the regional average. A well-performing Pizza Hut restaurant will have “well in excess” of 1,000 weekly transactions, according to Davenport. Michael said he’s targeting 2,200 per week, equivalent to about $1.1 million a year, from each outlet. Born and raised in Germany, Michael said he was introduced to Yum! after he asked the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia last year about opportunities for food franchises. Belayab Foods and Franchise’s owner, Aschalew, said he will return to Beijing, where he’s been based for three decades and acts as an agent for Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise. The company behind Kaldi’s, Ethiopia’s most recognized coffee shop brand, is set to launch the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise in Ethiopia within a year, The Reporter has learnt. Owned by one-time Ethiopian model, Tseday Asrat and Ethiopian Airlines captain, Elias Ketema, KFC Ethiopia is to complement the brands owned by the duo, including Lori-Agro-Industry and Gusto Restaurant, the latter being one of the few fine Italian dining spots in the capital. “We are in the final stages of negotiation to bring the brand here in Ethiopia,” Elias Ketema told The Reporter. “We have settled on most of the details and we are closer to having to sign the final document within weeks. We are excited,” he said. This is a departure for Elias, who has been managing the high-class brand at three locations, including near the Black Lion Hospital and inside the compounds of the headquarters of the African Union, attracting high-earning clientele from the local middle class and members of the diplomatic core. The company behind KFC, the Kentucky based Yum!, owner of one of the largest restaurant chains in the US, next to McDonalds, has been studying the Ethiopian market for a number of years as its next frontier to sustain its growth. This comes as the fast food chain has been losing ground to a health conscious population in what was once its commanding market of North America and Europe. “Ethiopia stands out for expansion because of its population,” the company said (in 2015). “We are certainly nowhere near pushing the go button, it’s still at that explore stage to find the right partner to see if the business model will work.” Three years forward, with a population of close to 100 million, Ethiopia continues to attract a slew of fast foods, including Pizza Hut, another Yum! brand that is set to launch its first eatery on February 25 in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian franchises are set to complement newly acquired restaurants in a dozen African nations, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya and Angola. For both Tseday and Elias, this is the second attempt at bringing an international brand name to Ethiopia, after failing to bring Starbucks and making way for its imitation with the Kaldi’s brand. In fact, Kaldi’s has been at loggerheads with Starbucks in light of the proximity of the logo and brand’s theme color. Later on, Kalidi’s slowly moved away from Starbuck’s green to its own brown color.