Just Falafel plans to open 200 UK restaurants within five years
The brand, reported to be the largest falafel chain in the world, now has three London restaurants in Monmouth Street, Baker Street and Hammersmith and is already planning new sites in Charing Cross and Croydon over the next few months.
Worldwide the company has grown rapidly and now has 33 operating stores, 50 locations in development and over 800 franchises sold across 17 different countries. In the UK Just Falafel is planning an aggressive growth of the number of franchised stores with a mix of large multiple franchisees and those who initially take on one restaurant and then grow the number of franchised outlets they operate.
Property realities
Michael Biggins, chief executive for the master franchisee of the UK and Ireland, told BigHospitality he thought 200 outlets serving dishes from the falafel-dominated menu was a realistic ambition.
"The three things that would limit us are the availability of quality properties at appropriate prices, having franchisees who are prepared and able to take on development and customer demand," he said. Biggins admitted that of the three limiting factors property was likely to have the biggest impact.
"Customer demand is the whole reason why we have decided to take on the master franchise for the UK. Just Falafel represents an under-served portion of the market and it is proven to attract quite a good customer base. I have a franchise sales director who is aggressively recruiting now and he is finding good success. As a brand we use Facebook and social media as a franchise recruiting medium and we have been very successful with that.
"We are fighting with everybody else for that wonderful corner location of an ideal size at an ideal rent with no premium. Of course we don't find that so we are constantly negotiating with landlords and I have recently broadened our search outside of the M25."
Just Falafel will launch its first restaurant outside London when an outlet opens in Cambridge later this year.
Biggins said: "As I have become aware of the realities of the property market in the Greater London area what I don't want to do is take the best available site within a targeted trade area - I want to make sure I get the right site.
"In order to be able to hit my sales objectives I am going to go across the country. There are obvious areas where there are university towns which could be attractive but I want to go into areas where I can see the opportunities for multiple restaurants within a reasonable geography," he added.
Not just falafel
Just Falafel venues are currently either stores focused exclusively on takeaway or outlets with space for diners to sit-down - the dine-in venues currently average around 1,200sq.ft. Biggins told BigHospitality that he expected the UK stores to be a similar mix of takeaway and sit-down but he revealed he hopes to open larger restaurants here too.
"The mix is going to be determined by the customer needs within a targeted trade area," he said. "I am beginning to look at opening larger restaurants to really establish the brand with a significant physical presence."
As well as the trademark falafel wrap with cucumber and turnip pickles, shredded parsley, shredded mint and tomato with tahini dressing, the Just Falafel menu includes a range of sandwiches, soups, sides and dips. There are also plans to launch a range of salads.
The original company is now looking to introduce the concept into South America, Canada and the US and is also reportedly considering an initial public offering (IPO).
