EXCLUSIVE: Top 10 Australian and Asian QSRs that are not in the UK

Some of the brands made global headlines for their aggressive expansion plans.

Aside from the usual global brands such as Starbucks, McDonald’s KFC and Burger King, there are some QSRs that are notable for their fast-growing store count, unique product offerings and witty marketing campaigns.

Take a look at these Australian and Asian concepts that are also fighting for the bigger share of the market that are not yet in the UK:

Photo credit: Soul Origin Facebook

Soul Origin

In last year’s list, Soul Origin is dubbed as ‘one of the fastest growing Australian QSR’ who have just reached the 100-store count since launching in 2011. They offer a variety of wraps, sandwiches, paninis and salads. A week ago, they launched their summer menu which features dairy free, vegan and vegetarian options such as sweet potato falafel, pulled pork salad and pulled pork wrap.

Their CEO Chris Mavris plans to focus on opening more stores in Perth, Melbourne and Northern & Central Queensland. But he also promised that they will only focus on their outlets’ quality over quantity.

Photo credit: Grill'd Facebook

Grill’d

This burger chain started out way back 2004 that promotes their use of healthy ingredients such as grass-fed lamb and beef. Earlier in the year, they have launched a range of plant-based burgers. They also just launched their new ‘Motherloving’ campaign that aims to emphasize the burger chain’s sustainable business practices.

Grill’d is currently in the process of improving their customer experience with the new SwingBy takeaway offering and membership programme to be launched next year.

Photo credit: Guzman Y Gomez Facebook

Guzman Y Gomez

Aside from Soul Origin, they also have grown to more than a hundred stores in the Land Down Under since it was last featured in the 2017 Edition. This mexican concept started out in 2006 serving burritos, fajitas, enchiladas and nachos. They also introduced the new ground beef filling that boasts of being a traditional, 20-year old family recipe of their head chef Cindy Flores. They also added a kids menu that is said to be high in protein and fibre and less in sugar.

The Mexican chain also attracted a lot of attention from social media a few months ago with the #BringCalHome campaign where an Cal Ryan, an Aussie fan living in London, sent GYG a message to bring him back to Australia so that he could eat their burrito bowls. The chain then dared him to collect 3,000 comments and 1,000 shares in two weeks. He got it less than a day.

Photo credit: Roll'd Facebook

Roll’d

Vietnamese concept Roll’d serves Vietnamese food such as Rice Paper Rolls, Pho Noodle Soups, Viet Baguette Noodle Salads, Goi and Bao. They just launched their summer brand campaign “All Roll’d Up” that highlights the healthy ingredients their signature Rice Paper Rolls have.

Last November 20, they reopened their flagship store in Chadstone will a new look. The chain said that they want to adapt to the market while staying true to their Vietnam heritage.

Photo credit: Zambrero Facebook

Zambrero

A Mexican concept in Australia, featuring burritos, nachos, powerbowls, tacos, dos capas and also guarantees that all of their meals have vegan or vegetarian options. Every year they are holding the Plate 4 Plate initiative where they will donate a meal for every burrito or bowl purchased. They have donated over 27 million meals.

The past year they have been launching new plant-based toppings such as the vegan cheese and vegan sour cream.

Photo credit: Haidilao Facebook

Haidilao

The Chinese hot pot chain was founded in 2004, which now has more than 300 stores in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, as well as Singapore, the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan. Last September it made the headlines with its initial public offering in the Hong Kong stock market. They aim to have US$963 million to fuel their expansion in the UK, Australia, Canada and Malaysia. They have raised US$1 billion after a few days.

Last October, they launched their first robot restaurant. They formed a joint venture with tech company Panasonic and has a goal to launch 5,000 more of these around the globe.

Photo credit: Jumbo Seafood

Jumbo Seafood

Jumbo Seafood is a Singaporean restaurant chain that started in 1987 and has 16 sites in Singapore, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. They just recently launched their seventh site in China, which also marks as their fourth franchised restaurant. In the announcement of their FY18 financial results, they said that they will continue to focus on expanding with two more Jumbo Seafood outlets in the next 12 months.

Photo credit: Yoshinoya Facebook

Yoshinoya

A Japanese fast food chain that has established store presences in a number of countries including the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, SIngapore, Malaysia and Cambodia. They specialise in rice bowls and bento meals as well as other Japanese offerings such as sushi and gyoza. Their most recent offering in Japan is the gyudon beef bowl that is made easy-to-eat, low in salt and less amount of rice for the elderly.

Photo credit: Cafe Amazon Facebook

Cafe Amazon

Previously on last year’s list, Thai cafe Cafe Amazon now has around 2,300 outlets in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Japan serving wide range of coffee, tea, juice and smoothie products. Now, they are looking to ramp up their global expansion plans that is said to rival Starbucks in terms of store count.

PTT Oil and Retail, who owns Cafe Amazon, is planning a US$1.3 billion investment to build 20,000 cafes over the next five years.

Photo credit: Pacific Coffee Facebook

Pacific Coffee

This Hong Kong coffee chain started in 1992 and now has 438 stores in Hong Kong, Macau, China and Malaysia. They unveiled their Christmas offering which include Nougat Ruby Latte, Nougat Matcha Latte,Nougat Raspberry Mocha, Gingerbread Man, Xmas Berry Dome Cake, and Xmas Turkey & Curry Potato Salad.

As the winter’s approaching in Hong Kong, they have even offered a buy-one-take-one promo on their hot beverages through Instagram. They also launched a number of Christmas-themed items that can be ideal for gift giving such as tumblers, DIY leather cup holders and mugs with a knitted pattern design.