BurgerFuel New Zealand has partnered with OhCal Foods to spearhead the company’s entry into America.
OhCal, owned by the Los Angeles based Grewal family, services more than 2100 Subway restaurants in California, Virginia, Washington DC and most of Maryland. It is also a development agent for Doctor’s Associates (DAI), the franchisor of Subway restaurants, the world’s largest single brand restaurant chain with over 43,000 franchised stores in more than 100 countries.
Since confirming its agreement with DAI’s affiliate, Franchise Brands last year, BurgerFuel has been preparing for its US entry.
DAI has developed the Subway brand utilising a development agent structure whereby selected Subway restaurant developers like OhCal have the rights to develop Subway restaurants in specific territories. BurgerFuel’s objective is to work with these key and proven developers to roll out its brand utilising a similar structure.
BurgerFuel CEO, Josef Roberts, explained: “Following the deal last year, we set about studying what we recognised as the two key elements for our US expansion. The first was how best for us to maximise the franchise brands relationship, specifically the development machine behind Subway’s phenomenal growth. Secondly we wanted to understand the US landscape in as much detail as possible before settling on a strategic entry plan, including selection of our first state and a refined BurgerFuel model for this highly competitive, but potentially massive market.”
Roberts said that the Grewals were among the most highly regarded developers in the Subway restaurant world and that he was prepared to sacrifice some time in order to develop a relationship with them, with a view to forming a partnership.
“I am delighted to say that has now occurred and that we are now working on site selection and all the other legal and administrative requirements for taking BurgerFuel into the US.”
Founder of OhCal Foods, Hardy Grewal, said: “BurgerFuel is an exciting and unique concept and company. We think that with our local knowledge and development experience and BurgerFuel’s offer and brand, there is a lot of potential for us to make this another success story.”
Roberts said that he felt strongly aligned with the Grewals as they are on the same page in their thinking approach “and that kind of bond is critical in any partnership”. He said BurgerFuel is now finalising its first US restaurant location.
BurgerFuel Worldwide is a New Zealand gourmet burger concept with a presence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, NZ and Australia.
