To Be or Not to Be! It's Muy Delicious

If you’ve lived in KSA for more than a few years, you’ll know Saudis have a thing for franchises. Is it the ease of startup we are attracted to? The safety net provided by the franchisor, the guidance the training? Or the large sums of available capital to invest? Whatever the reasons, our reliance on the outside world to import these foreign ‘brands’ may be waning; more and more businesses in the food and beverage market are now going down the ‘do it yourself’ route. These restaurants and café’s tend to be started by young twenty something entrepreneurial types who admittedly are taking a risk, but it is one they are willing to take, as they bring with them a local perspective on the market that a franchisor either may not have, or not be willing to adapt to.

As for international franchises in the Kingdom, their story is still one of great success. Many have succeeded (McDonalds, KFC, Hardees) while others have fallen by the wayside, disappearing almost overnight. I get nostalgic thinking about some, such as Al Dewan, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and Sbarro. A testament to our Saudi upbringing and our huge obesity problem: some of my fondest memories are of birthday parties held in fast food chains, many of them foreign. And while some have gone, others have arrived to take their place; among them are Chilis, TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday, Fun Time Pizza, and Chuck E Cheese. I read a great interview recently with the founder of Chuck E Cheese in ‘Inc Magazine’.

Did you know that Chuck E Cheese Founder Nolan Bushnell also started Atari, which explains why the whole concept of Chuck E Cheese is based around the arcade. Food leading to Entertainment, two things under one roof; how could young people not be attracted to this? But you don’t have to put a video game controller into a child’s hand to entertain them while they eat. Others have proved success can be achieved based on the food alone. Look at Al Baik, Al Tazaj, Kudu, Herfy, and even more recently, the likes of Toasted, Sushi Yoshi and Muchos. All Saudi concepts, all home-grown (the good kind), and some are now even international names. Al Tazaj, for example is now available in more than six countries (according to Wikipedia). While the international franchises bring immediate brand recognition to the table the moment they step foot into the country, and continue back it up with constant marketing activities, local startups need to ‘play ball’ too if they are going to compete on a national level. If you haven’t noticed the ‘Muchos’ billboard campaign across Jeddah’s busiest streets this Spring, where exactly have you been?