Home ›› 03 Feb 2022 ›› Front
The local fast food brands are making great strides in fast food market and gradually swaying control over their foreign players in terms of culinary tastes that are gaining traction.
The names of Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, etc, pop up in one’s mind when it comes to talking about fast food, but with the blessings of experience sharing and technology transfers, local entrepreneurs have been successful in creating domestic brands.
The local brands are now much popular among the foodies due largely to their affordable price, flavour and olfaction.
“I used to take fast food of foreign brands, but currently I go for BFC, Takeout, Medchef, etc, as these local brands offer the same quality food at affordable prices,” said Tanzila Jahan, a student of Dhaka University.
Tanzila went to the extent of saying that they are by nature accustomed to taking spicy food which the multinational brands are lacking in their food items, but which local brands can very well make it up.
KFC sells 8 pieces hot and crispy chicken bucket at Tk 1,039 while local brand BFC does it for Tk 895 for 9 pieces.
A classic Zinger with cheese is sold for Tk 329 at KFC while BFC introduces Brioche Garlic Cheese Burger costing Tk 290.
Local fast food outlets are available in every nook and corner across the capital. “Once I used to cross a long way to get fast food, but now many a local brands are everywhere in the capital,” said Masudur Rahman, a government official.
“People prefer quality food products having affordable price. Local brands have all these characteristics. They offer local taste and people have respect for local products either.”
The name and fame of local fast food brands have also reached the global market. A great example of local brands in foreign market is Takeout Lanka.
The renowned burger “takeout” from Bangladesh has officially launched its outlet in Sri Lanka recently and is planning to introduce outlets in some other countries.
Fast food creating entrepreneurs
With the growing popularity of fast food consumption, entrepreneurship is developing in the country. Many youth find this an opportunity to be entrepreneur while some made forays into this sector leaving other businesses sensing the high demand for fast food.
According to a study titled “Fast food consumption and obesity among urban college going adolescents in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study” published on Science Direct, fast food consumption is becoming increasingly popular in urban areas.
The prevalence of fast food consumption is over 68 per cent among college-going adolescents in Bangladesh. Some 64 per cent consume fast food frequently due to their taste, pleasure and availability.
Against such a demand for fast food, a number of local brands have mushroomed and even they are developing in divisional cities as well.
Maruf Hasan Nirjhor, an owner of fast food chain Chillox, said they started their food business in 2016 with only four staff.
“As we ensure quality food, we have witnessed significant growth over the years and now we have 100 staff and 10 outlets,” he added.
Maruf Hasan, owner of Utopia Café at Dania in the capital, said he was involved in retail business in the United Kingdom, and came to Bangladesh to develop fast food business.
“Though our business was hard hit by the pandemic, it witnessed significant growth over the years. Burger and Pasta segment are our best sale products, and we are planning to open outlets in other areas too,” said Maruf.
Local fast food market status
The sector people said their business is doing well as they make sale at 30-40 per cent less price than that of foreign food brands, and it makes sense to them that local taste will take the industry by storm.
Currently, local brands including BFC, Takeout, Medchef, Chillox and American Barger occupy 70-80 per cent of the fast food industry while the rest are by the multinational companies including KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos and Burger King.
BFC Operation Manager Md Rashedul Alam said they hold second position in terms of market share with 19 outlets across the country while KFC is at the top.
“Many witnessed a slump in food business due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we did not. We have hired 100 workers during the trying time as ours is the food popular among consumers,” he noted.
The annual transaction of BFC is now almost the same as that of KFC, and gradually local contribution to fast food is increasing which currently accounts for 70 to 80 per cent.
The price of food belonging to multination brands is 30 to 40 times higher than that of local companies.
Takeout Managing Director Md Fahim Kabir said they are leading in the burger market with 13 outlets in Dhaka and one in Sri Lanka. The burger market is highly dominated by the local brands holding 90 per cent market share.
Shihab Shariar, area manager of Medchef, said they have nine outlets, and their business is good.
“We hire experienced people who have done well in multinational companies. The local fast food industry is growing by 20-30 per cent annually as they supply food at a less price without compromising quality,” he maintained.
Speciality of multinational brands
The multinational companies are focusing on quality rather than prices and also maintain professionalism.
Besides, they welcome their consumers cordially and such attitude drives many to go for the multinational brands.
Momen Uddin Ahamed, senior manager at Transcom Foods, said fast food industry grew in Bangladesh in 2003 pioneered by Transcom. The industry is expanding in line with the increase in people’s purchase power and GDP growth.
Sohrab Sagar, second-in-charge at KFC at Gulshan-1 Branch, told this correspondent they have 27 outlets across the country; of them, four are high value outlets which sell more than 2 lakh per day.
While visiting an outlet of Madchef in Dhanmondi, a large number of customers was seen buying the varieties of local brand fast food items, including sandwiches. However, a completely different picture was seen at the KFC outlet in the same area.
Customers said they prefer local brands for taste, flavour and prices. Farhan Ishrak, a student of Dhaka University, was purchasing fast food at the BFC outlet. Ishraq said he preferred local fast food for delicacy and aroma.
“Oh, I just love Madchef and BFC for their product varieties, prices and flavour,” he told The Business Post.
Shima Akter, shift manager for Pizza Hut at Dhanmondi branch, said competition among local and foreign fast food brands is intensifying as many local brands are active in the market, and grabbing market share.
Focus needed for further growth of local brands
Despite the fact that local brands are doing well, they are lacking much in professionalism. Besides, there are also some questions about the food quality of many local brands.
While talking to a bevy of consumers, it was evident that they all suggested that local brands should ensure better quality and professionalism to boost the industry further.
A banker Nijhum Nahrin said local fast food brands are doing well now, but some of them don’t maintain standard as that of the multinational brands.
“When we go to international food brands, we are approached professionally which we desire from local brands too,” she opined.
Anowar Hossain, a businessman, echoed the same as Nahrin.
“Local brands are doing well, but they have still much to do when it comes to maintaining hygiene rule,” he suggested.
