Food franchising set to grow in MENA region

08-Nov-2013 - Last updated on 15-Mar-2017 at 05:48 GMT

McDonald's is among the many successful companies in the region with a franchising model

Related tags Middle east

Many global food and beverage brands are turning to franchising as a blueprint for expansion, with franchised outlets now making up the lion’s share of the Middle Eastern food market.

Francorp Middle East, the franchise consulting leader in the region, says that franchising in the food and beverage (F&B) sector will continue to grow extensively in the region.

The franchising option has proven successful in the Middle East. For example, the largest food chain in the world, McDonald’s, adopted the franchising model and now operates in more than 30,000 locations around the globe, including a large number in the Middle East. With many food brands already operating successfully, the opportunity to expand on a much larger scale is appearing to be a viable option for many more companies within the market.

Imad Charafeddine, president of Francorp Middle East, said: “An increasing number of F&B consumers is a worldwide phenomenon and Middle East is not an exception. Besides having increasing local population, the ever-increasing expats and tourists are triggering the demand of food every day. F&B franchising from 2010 onwards has seen 25% annual growth and is expected to grow more rapidly in the coming years due to more investments and work opportunities in the region.”

Since the launch of the Francorp Opportunity Portal, which serves as a point of contact for franchise buyers and businesses across the Middle East, the company has observed that over 70% of its clients fall are in the food and beverage category.

Charafeddine said: "Franchising is more important for local brands if they want to compete with the international brands. Sixty per cent of current F&B franchising brands are international and more brands are trying to enter into the market, so local brands should seriously think about franchising in order to capture more market.”

He continued: “I don’t see any local brand that doesn’t want expansion, but a local brand may not be considering franchising just for the reason that this is comparatively new thing. Creating franchise programme development awareness is the way out and Francorp Middle East is constantly doing so. That is the reason we’ve such a big number of clients.”

Established in 1976, Francorp claims to be the oldest franchise consultant, with a presence in more than 45 countries.