KFC opens Nairobi’s first drive-through food outlet

Corporate News

The new KFC fast food outlet by Kuku Foods Kenya on Mombasa Road on December 1, 2014. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA 

By DOREEN WAINAINAH

In Summary

• The outlet located at a Total petrol station will see customers order, pay and pick up their food while still in their cars.
• The franchise is promising customers a service time of between two and five minutes from the point of making an order to the point of exit.
• The store which is a joint venture between Total and KFC cost $1 million investment (Sh90 million) to set up.

Global fast food franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has opened Kenya’s first drive-through outlet on Mombasa Road.

The outlet located at a Total petrol station will see customers order, pay and pick up their food while still in their cars. The franchise is promising customers a service time of between two and five minutes from the point of making an order to the point of exit.

“Kenya is catching up with the rest of the world. People have less time and they want to eat. You want something quickly and you do not want to park, especially on Mombasa Road where there is high traffic. They just want to come through, get something to eat and drive right out,” said Justin Melvin, general manager of KFC’s local franchise holder Kuku Foods Kenya, in an interview.

The store which is a joint venture between Total and KFC cost $1 million investment (Sh90 million) to set up.

It is KFC’s fifth fast food outlet in the country. “The building was done by Total, we have done the fit out,” said Mr Melvin.

The opening comes shortly after entry of Cold Stone Creamery and Domino’s Pizza in Kenya looking in to cash in on the growing number of middle income consumers.

READ: US fast food, ice cream chains open in Nairobi

This is one of the two KFC branches that was scheduled to be opened this year. The second is set to serve its first clients in a fortnight on Limuru Road.

The ‘Drive Thru’ model has been successful for KFC in other African countries including Egypt and South Africa.

Ocean Basket, Cold Stone, Domino’s, Naked Pizza, Spurs in addition to KFC are other major foreign chains with outlets in Nairobi.

Analysts and property developers also say that a combination of the growth in the mall culture and ongoing developments in roads and other infrastructure are other incentives for global retailers to enter the Kenyan market.

The country has been witnessing rising purchasing power among the middle class, with retailers and shopping centre developers investing in expansion plans.

Kuku Foods plans to open an additional 10 KFC stores in the next two years.

Frontier Strategy Group, a US data vendor that tracks emerging markets, mid this year ranked Kenya as the second most preferred destination in Africa for multinational corporations seeking to set up shop.