The Nigerian food industry, as with many food industries in the world, keeps growing because food is essential to man.
However, the threat of rising food prices is affecting individuals and businesses involved in the food value chain. An example of such is Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). This threat has caused some restaurants/outlets to constantly reinvent their product offering, quantity, and prices.
Chicken Republic, a franchise under Food Concepts Plc. announced a surprising shift in April 2021 from its use of chicken to eggs in one of its menus, due to the rise in prices of the former.
About Food Concepts
Food Concepts Plc was incorporated in December 1999 as Food Concepts & Entertainment Limited and became a public limited liability company changing to Food Concepts Plc. in May 2009.
Following its incorporation in 1999, Food Concepts secured franchises from reputable South African Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) operators to manage and operate their brands in Nigeria. The company subsequently acquired and developed brands such as Chicken Republic, PieXpress, Butterfield, Yum Yum, and The Chop Box as its proprietary food brands with outlets located in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and other cities across Nigeria and Ghana.
Through the remodeling of stores, the products, goods, and services are purchased locally, with the delivery network, which operates predominantly on informal distribution networks.
The Chicken Republic brand is in competition with Sweet Sensation, KFC, The Place, and a few others.
Products
Chicken Republic, which is Food Concepts’ major outlet, produces various meals and snacks, including its flagship spiced chicken meals. The outlet is currently trading in over 150 locations across Nigeria and Ghana and has plans in place to operate 430 stores by the end of 2024.
Following a corporate restructuring and divestment, different outlets were created to cater to various customer tastes.
The company leveraged its parking spaces to set up Pie Express in 2019, a pocket-friendly outlet on the go.
The other brand, Chopbox, was created in 2021 and caters to consumers of traditional meals, which is meeting the gap created in providing traditional meals in formal eateries around the country.
The board
The Board of Food Concepts comprises ten directors, with three in executive capacity.
Mr. Odunayo Olagundoye – Non-Executive Chairman
Odunayo is the pioneer managing director/chief executive officer of Chartered Bank Plc., and a former managing director of National Bank of Nigeria Plc from 2000 to 2003. Prior to that, he was the general manager/chief credit officer of International Merchant Bank Plc. He holds a first degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management. He is currently the chairman of Quantum Capital Management.
Mr. Kofi Abunu– Managing Director
Mr. Kofi Abunu became the managing director/CEO of Food Concepts Plc in March 2022. He has over 28 years of international experience in management roles in the food and hospitality industry, having previously worked with global brands such as McDonald’s (UK), Nando’s, Steers (Ghana), and Innscor West Africa Limited (operators of the multi-brand food court). He was head of operations with their partnership with Exxon Mobil managing the ‘On the Run brand’. Kofi started with Food Concepts in 2007 as a GM for the Chicken Republic Brand.
Achievements
- Following a corporate restructuring and divestment, the company successfully set up PieXpress, Butterfield, Yum Yum and The Chop Box brands.
- The company has constantly met all food, health and safety standards, which are: ISO certification in Food Safety Management System (ISO 22000:2018), Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2015), Occupational Health and Safety Management System (ISO 45001:2018)
- Food Concepts presently employs over 6,000 people with many more thousands employed indirectly.
Financial Performance
The company was admitted into the NASD stock exchange on the 15th of July, 2013, with a market capitalization of N50,258,992,500. The current share price is 90 kobo.
Its financial report as of December 2021, shows a revenue of N36 billion and a profit after tax of N3.9 billion.
One of the company’s strengths was being able to improve customer service by utilizing its parking spaces in its Chicken Republic outlets to create a Pie Express outlet.
Recently, the company indicated its plans for expansion by over 670 stores by the end of 2024, directly employing over 9,000 people in Nigeria alone. However, with the economic crunch leading to higher switching power of consumers, preferring local meals from informal outlets, the business may face some resistance. Also, income per capita in other cities with lower per capita income could lead to fewer profits.
But as food can never go out of fashion, the brand can constantly re-invent its menus to satisfy taste buds.
