American multinational franchise fast-food chain Burger King has disclosed plans to enter into the Nigerian market in the fourth quarter of 2021.
This disclosure was made by the Managing Director Allied Food & Confectionary Services Limited, Antoine Zammarieh, to Nairametrics.
He stated that the fast food restaurant would set up shop in Nigeria between September and November 2021.
He also disclosed that its entry into the fast-food restaurant in Nigeria would create jobs for 6,000 Nigerians both directly and indirectly.
Zammarieh said, “Burger King will start operations by Autumn, i.e between September and November 2021. We have set up the Quality Control unit and have met some of our local suppliers to seal the deal. Also, we have sent some of the ingredients to America to test quality.
“As a company, we are delighted to enter this new market being the largest country in Africa and are looking forward to serving our future guests with our world-famous Burger King meals.
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“Most importantly, our goal is to positively contribute to the economy by creating more jobs and employment opportunities. In five years, we hope to directly or indirectly employ between 5,000 and 6,000 people in Nigeria.”
Burger King’s Expansion
With other existing fast-food chains in Nigeria, Burger King looks to add to its more than 11 million customers globally.
Its entry into the market would see the franchise working to keep the attention of Nigerians, as competition in the business remains tough.
The Chief Executive of Burger King’s parent company (Restaurant Brands International), Daniel Schwartz, explained, in 2018 to the Financial Times, that the company was “significantly underpenetrated” in Africa.
Schwartz described Africa as a “huge opportunity” to open business in.
The restaurant comes second after McDonald’s with less than 17,000 outlets, mostly franchised, while McDonald’s owns over 37,000 restaurants globally.
Schwartz said, “We are so under penetrated around the world relative to our peers — and ourselves in the US.”
