UK
Indian street food group Wrapchic to kickstart “rapid” expansion in UK
Indian street food group Wrapchic to kickstart “rapid” expansion in UK
The brand plans to expand to 22 sites this summer. Indian street food group Wrapchic is set for an aggressive expansion this year, starting with its first two service station openings in Beaconsfield and Cobham this month. “We’re seeing success on the high street because of the unique concept, low price point and great quality,” Wrapchic founder Mahesh Raikar said. Operating as a franchise model, Mahesh founded Wrapchic in 2012, which has been showcasing modern Indian street food while having a focus on the portability of the product by allowing customers to choose their food base and toppings from a wide range of options. “The food-to-go sector is growing fast, and in a packed market, we’re very happy to be bringing something a little special to the table, adding a point of difference. People are well-travelled, they’re savvy and they want to see global flavours as part of lunch offers in the UK. Service station hospitality is of course a part of that, and we can’t wait to start feeding thousands of hungry drivers.” The 16-strong group plans to grow to 22 sites this summer, with subsequent openings in Walsall, Wolverhampton, Milton Keynes, Guildford and Derby. The group is then looking to open another 20 in 2019, and 30 by 2020 onwards.
Benugo debuts new vegan menu
The fresh additions include the Vegan Reuben sandwich. Aiming to reach more vegan consumers, Benugo unveiled eleven new additions as part of their new Vegan menu. The new, plant-based options include the BBQ Jackfruit Bowl and Curried Chickpea, and the Mango Chutney Wrap.
EAT., Toast Ale partner in unique waste reduction initiative
Proceeds from purchased brews made from the brand's surplus bread will be given to charity.
Burger King rolls out its first flame-grilled donut
The special offering is only available in the U.S.
Chipsy to open first site in London
Previously, the chips bar’s offerings were only available via food delivery apps. Aiming to reinvent the way potatoes are enjoyed, Chipsy has announced that it will set up its first site in London. The chips brand is expected to offer its signature fries with their fish-and-chips-inspired Poutine to Go Fish, vegan option Mex It Up, and other items that aims to elevate fries. Chipsy’s offerings are currently available via Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
EXCLUSIVE: Crussh on the huge opportunity their Sodexo Partnership presents
The landmark deal will see the brand expand to at least 35 new sites over the next 5 years.
North Korea to possibly allow McDonald's in their country
U.S. officials say Kim Jong Un may allow a ‘Western hamburger franchise’ in the reclusive state. The Press Herald stated that the North Korean leader will allow the brand into the country as a “show of goodwill” to the United States, according to an intelligence report described by U.S. officials to American media conglomerate NBC. This followed remarks by South Korean adviser Chung-in Moon last April who mentioned that North Korea might be interested in welcoming a McDonald’s as tensions ease.
Weekly Global News Wrap: Starbucks' racial bias training video; Domino's welcomes customers to suggest ‘Hotspots'; Sugar substitutes market projected to value at $19.1b
Here is a summary of the most interesting QSR news stories of the week from around the world. Starbucks recently closed 8,000 stores for a day to conduct racial bias training to around 175,000 employees, following an incident in Philadelphia where two black men were arrested at a store while waiting for a friend because they did not order.
Social Media Wrap Up: Second Cup's tea chillers; Wasabi's 'Rainbow' salad; Roosters' new Uxbridge branch
Find out what QSRs have been up to on social media. BRAND AND STORE UPDATES
KFC to reduce 20% of calories per serving by 2025
The global chicken brand will also test a new vegetarian option this year. Looking to improve consumer choice, KFC UK and Ireland has announced its ambition to reduce 20% of calories in their offerings by the year 2025. KFC says that calorie reduction commitment is also the latest phase of their long-term nutrition strategy, focusing on creating “new, lighter” meals, crafting new recipes to improve existing dishes, and making it easier for consumer to choose such options. Later this year, the brand is set to launch a new vegetarian option, which will be tested with customers. They also intend to make changes to their sides by 2019, which will then by followed by more lunch and dinner dishes under 600 calories.
Carpigiani Group gets McDonald's Global Reliability Award
The ice cream equipment company was previously lauded by the global food giant in 2015. McDonald’s has given its Global Reliability Award to the Carpigiani Group for efforts in maintaining reliability of equipment components and manufacturing capabilities as one of their suppliers. “This company has a reputation for strongly recognizing the importance of reliability to McDonald’s and their customers. They have maintained their reliability scores under McDonald’s required threshold consistently for more than 7 years. Among all the complex pieces of equipment in the McDonald’s system, they are the only supplier to achieve such results,” McDonald’s Corporate Vice President of Restaurant Solutions Jim Fox said. Founded in 1946, Carpigiani was previously given McDonald’s Innovation Award in 2015 and is known for their artisan gelato programme.
Just Eat's reports over 100,000 unique interactions through augmented reality campaign
10% of those interactions resulted in an order. Aiming to illustrate the potential of augmented reality (AR) in customer engagement and sales, Just Eat announced that its recent campaign that featured the said technology saw a total of 102,000 unique interactions, 10% of which resulted in an order.
Sugar tax adds £5m in soft drink retail sales, study claims
The tax bands were implemented in response to rising number of overweight children in the UK.
QSR Media UK selected in Feedspot's Top 10 restaurant sites to follow
The modern RSS site based its criteria on Google search rankings, content quality, and social media influence.
Pret A Manger to be owned by global investment firm JAB
The purchased sandwich and coffee brand currently operates 530 stores worldwide.
Landlords to fight back against use of CVAs by retailers, chains
This is in response to a growing list of such proposals by companies.
Chart of the Week: The dominance of specialty coffee in the out-of-home market
To what extent is traditional coffee being outperformed? Data from The NPD Group shows that in the year ending February 2018, the total out-of-home servings for specialty coffee are at a high 83% - indicating a huge opportunity for such in the coffee market despite flat coffee performance in the foodservice market.
