Chicken Cottage restaurant expands footprint to East Africa market

Global restaurant chain Chicken Cottage [Courtesy]

Global restaurant chain Chicken Cottage has signed a franchising partnership agreement with Express Kitchen, a subsidiary of AAH Ltd and sister company to oil marketer Hass Petroleum Group.

The deal will introduce a fusion menu of halal grilled and fried chicken to Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda consumers. The first four restaurants are earmarked to launch this year, starting with Nairobi in April.

Hass Petroleum Group has a significant retail footprint in Africa and operates more than 150 petrol stations across 10 countries on the continent.

“The Chicken Cottage quality halal fried, and grilled chicken products and its forward-thinking ethos complement our strategy to deliver a holistic family-friendly destination for our consumers,” said Express Kitchen and Hass Petroleum Group Chairman Abdinasir Ali Hassan.

“The team and I look forward to launching this new concept in East Africa and supporting Chicken Cottage with its ambitious and visionary expansion plans in the region.”

The pact with Chicken Cottage follows a similar deal recently announced with international pizza brand Papa John’s.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Express Kitchen and their experienced team to bring our famous Chicken Cottage products to new customers across East Africa,” said Chicken Cottage Group Chief Executive Shahrin Imran.

The deal will strengthen Chicken Cottage’s presence in Africa, following the opening of its first two restaurants in Nigeria, and build on the 75 restaurants it operates across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The partnership will also empower Hass Petroleum to leverage its retail footprint as it introduces new customers to Chicken Cottage.

Chicken Cottage Global Development Senior Manager Ian Jeffrey said the deal marked a major step in their international expansion programme.

“We are confident that the knowledge AAH Group has in the region will help make this franchise partnership an enormous success,” he said.