Domino’s Pizza franchise owner eyes more nations in Africa expansion drive

A fast-food delivery company Eat ‘n’ go Ltd has revealed plans to go regional, starting with the Ugandan market.

The firm, which boasts of the Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery franchises in Nigeria and Kenya, opened its latest store in Nairobi’s Westlands area last Friday.

In Kenya, the firm now has footprints in Nairobi and Mombasa through Domino’s Pizza.

Eat ‘n’ go Managing Director Mr Ryan Pape, said the company is looking to expand to Nanyuki, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Eldoret. “Regionally, in East Africa, Uganda is our next country,” said Pape.

In Kenya, the company is targeting 100 stores with Group Chief Executive Officer Mr Patrick McMichael attributing the expansion in Kenya to the growing middle class.

Mr McMichael says compared to Nigeria, Kenya has a significant middle-class population with matching purchasing power. Nigeria’s middle class, he says, is still developing.

Comparing data, he says Kenya has an increased consumer spending power than Nigeria.

“What Nigeria has is a population of over 200 million people. For us, with the strength of the middle class here and the growth, it is a good opportunity for our business to grow here in Kenya,” said Mr McMichael.

“We are working our way towards becoming a Pan African company. Kenya is an important part of our expansion.”

Pape said in 2015, Eat ‘n’ go Nigeria was in the same position as its branch in Kenya in terms of store count but noted that Nigerian lessons will come in handy as they expand business in Kenya.

“We are very pleased with where Kenya is going as a market. It is obviously a competitive market; there are many players. It is also a growing market as well and we are looking to invest and grow here,” he said.

The expansion will see the firm employ 2,000 more workers in addition to their current 3,000.

The franchisee boss however says the expansion will take time. “It is not a sprint for us, it is a marathon so we will expand as we feel the business is doing what we want it to do,” said Mr McMichael, noting that many businesses expand just for the sake of it.

“We have always expanded when It is time to expand and that is what is safe for the business.”

He notes that data analytics plays a key role in determining the expansion bid.

“Our edge is in the technology platform that we use. We are able to see where the consumers live, where traffic moves; I can see daytime traffic where customers are during the day, at lunch and evening,” he said.

As such, if the company decides to open a store, it knows exactly where to open it for customers’ easy access. “We are really a technology company that delivers food and that is a unique selling point for us.”

This, he says, explains why even after acquiring the Kenyan franchise at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the firm spent a year doing research and understanding the market as well as consolidating the two businesses.

“Any company that buys into another firm cannot just walk in and start expanding straight away. There is a lot for us to learn,” said Mr McMichael. Eat ‘n’ go launched first in Nigeria in 2012.

Mr McMichael said the Russia-Ukraine conflict or the election cycle in both Kenya and Nigeria will not deter their expansion plans.

The conflict between the two countries has been blamed for the shortage of wheat which is a key ingredient for pizza.While Eat ‘n’ go has its wheat supply locally sourced, McMichael says they are still not immune from the conflict. “Certainly we won’t be closing up. We are here for a long-term,” he said.

Even so, with the cost of farm inputs rising in the country resulting in high food prices, Mr Pape, says the firm is working its way around it.

“We use local wheat. We rely on local farmers. We do not import. We understand the cost is going up and we just work with our suppliers to try and give them long term contracts so we can both manage through this,” said Pape.