Tanmiah Food Company (“Tanmiah” or the “Company”, 2281 on the Saudi Exchange), a market leading provider of fresh and processed poultry and other meat products, animal feed and health products, announced its subsidiary Gulf Brand Fast Food Company has signed a master franchise and development agreement with POPEYES one of the world’s largest chicken quick service restaurants.
The agreement will see the POPEYES brand expand its footprint in Saudi Arabia, with new restaurants set to open in the coming years.
David Shear, International President of Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of POPEYES, commented:
“Our agreement with Gulf Brand Fast Food Company is an exciting step in delivering on our commitment to serve our signature blend of spices, flavors and experience to more guests around the world. Saudi Arabia is an important market in our expansion plans for the MENA region, and we look forward to see chicken-lovers in Saudi Arabia getting their hands on POPEYES world famous dishes including our Chicken Sandwich with the expansion of our footprint across the Kingdom.”
Zulfiqar Hamadani CEO of Tanmiah, commented:
Today’s announcement marks an important step in Tanmiah’s trajectory as we diversify our business further across the value chain. The establishment of Gulf Brand Fast Food Company and the agreement with POPEYES form part of our strategic growth plans, which will see us focus on expanding our capacity in our core segments and build a leading food brand franchise operator offer. We look forward to continuing to deliver fresh chicken to customers across the region, and to support the Saudi government’s strategic goal of attaining self-sufficiency in the poultry sector. The new food franchise segment will also be aligned with our Giving, Earning and Sustaining model, and will support job creation for Saudi nationals in the retail sector.
Madhav Kapur CEO of Gulf Brand Fast Food Company, commented:
We are thrilled to announce our partnership with POPEYES and to contribute to the growth of the quick service restaurant market in the Kingdom. Our agreement with POPEYES will grow the presence of the brand, increasing access to tasty products to customers across the Kingdom. We look forward to bringing our experience as an operator of food franchises to deliver a best-in-class customer and brand experience.
Capitalizing on its proven operational excellence, growing consumer preference for locally produced chicken and Saudi government support Tanmiah intends to grow its fresh chicken business in line with the Saudi government’s strategic goal of attaining 80% self-sufficiency in the poultry sector. The Company has increased its local sales of fresh chicken by 23% over the past three years from 66.3 million chickens in 2018 to 81.5 million in 2020 and up to June 2021, the Company has sold 73.7 million chickens so far as a result of reinvestment in its assets and operations.