Franchising in China. Possible BUT!!! In the past year I have been deeply involved in many M&A projects in the foodservice sector in China, some of them involving companies using the franchise model to grow their business. I learned a lot from working with these Chinese firms and my opinion of franchising in China has changed somewhat but not entirely. You can say that I now have a more nuanced opinion about the prospects to develop a business using this model. Since so many Korean restaurant chains are interested in finding Master Franchise relationships for their brands in China, I decid
Instant Coffee Still is King! 여전히 인스턴트 커피가 왕! There is no doubt that gourmet coffee is still a growth industry in most developed countries but did you know that a big part of the world is going in the opposite direction towards instant coffee! The Washington Post had an interesting article recently about this phenomenon. Sales of instant coffee have nearly tripled since 2000, according to data from Euromonitor International. The world consumed nearly $31 Billion in 2013 and that figure is expected to grow to $35 Billion by 2018. Instant coffee accounts for more than 34% of all the retail coffe
I recently spent a month in the USA visiting with my adult children in Austin Texas and Los Angeles California in addition to a stop over in Las Vegas. The USA culinary scene is changing as more Chefs focus on using many new flavors and ingredients to create very attractive menus at affordable prices. Here are just a few of the interesting trends I witnessed in all three cities. 나는 최근 텍사스 주 오스틴과 캘리포니아 주 LA에 있는 장성한 자녀들을 만나기 위해 라스베가스를 경유하여 미국에서 한 달간 머물렀다. 미국 요리 현장을보면, 더 많은 셰프들이 합리적인 가격에 매력적인 메뉴를 창조하기 위해 새로운 다양한 맛과 식재료를 이용하고 있다는 것을 알 수 있다. 위 세 도시에서 목격한 몇가지 흥미로운 트렌드를 소개하겠다. Kimchi is Now Common on
CNBC, a USA financial network, announced recently that KFC had discreetly set up a new concept to test in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. The concept, Super Chix, looks remarkably similar to its main competitor and now industry leader in the QSR chicken segment, Chick-Fil-A. The image and menu communicate a premium positioning, something of course KFC lacks in the USA market. Surprisingly, a spokesperson for the company denied that the test was intended to better position KFC for the USA market but noted instead it was developed for international partners. It seems a little strange indeed that K
If you read the newspapers or catch the news on the TV, you would think that Thailandwas imploding under the weight of political issues that seem impossible to resolve – yellow shirts fighting against red shirts sometimes leading to bombs, gunshots and deaths. The Thai people seem to accept these disputes and go about their daily lives as does the business community. Thailand is a big foodservice market with a large growing middle class and it would be unwise to ignore the opportunity because your management is scared off by all the violence one sees on CNN. I just returned from a two week bus