In November (2021), the husband who worked in the study suddenly said, "The official website of the US embassy said that Burger King has opened in Nigeria!" Is the fast food restaurant a big deal? Want news from the US embassy? A few weeks later, my colleague, talking about the newly opened Burger King in downtown Lagos, took out a menu from the bag and said, "Last time I went to buy it, I waited 50 minutes!" "What?! It takes nearly an hour to wait for a burger?" I just thought there was something wrong with that! The next weekend, I decided to go with my husband to see how amazing this brand new Burger King is. 1643356099854 Photo Credit: Author provided Burger King in Lagos, West Africa. I thought that Burger King would take up a lot of space, and the location would be conspicuous on the corner of an important street. As a result, the location and signboard of this store are not as conspicuous as I imagined, but they are still some distance away, and there is a heavy traffic jam nearby. We decided to get out of the car and walk there. The front of the store is full of cars, and as soon as you enter the door,
it is full of local customers waiting to order and pick up food. The cubicle-free central kitchen and the staff behind the counter were busy preparing meals and ordering. The restaurant's seating for about 50 people was full, and other places were also crowded with waiting crowds. I can totally imagine why my coworker has to wait 50 minutes. Locals share their experience of ordering food in the online community, and they all say that one hour is only basic, and some people even wait for one and a half to two hours. However, why can a global chain of fast food restaurants become such a hot restaurant in West Africa, so that the "fast food" originally advertised is slower than high-end French restaurants? wedding photo retouching services And why are the local people so willing to pay the bill, willing to invite friends and family, and join the family? 1643356174862 Photo Credit: Author provided Among the 54 African countries, KFC has now planted flags in 25 countries. The picture shows the KFC store in Lagos, a big city in West Africa. KFC, which entered Africa more than 30 years earlier than Burger King In October 2020, after 23 years in West Africa, my husband and I came to Lagos, the big city in West Africa again. After leaving the airport, the car was driving all the way on the highway. I accidentally saw the signs of KFC, Coldstone ice cream, Domino's Pizza and other stores.
I was pleasantly surprised that these well-known American chain stores have entered Lagos, and now I feel deeply in Africa. It should be different now! In the first two months after returning to Africa, my husband and I really visited KFC a few times. We are all curious and novel when we see a space that is novel, with clean windows and very similar to Europe, America or Taiwan, but with the addition of a few local specialties. When did the novelty KFC come to Nigeria? Curious about which customers come to dine? Compared with Burger King's expansion in Africa, KFC is more ambitious in this land. Among the 54 African countries, KFC has now planted flags in 25 countries, from Egypt and South Africa in the 1970s to Mauritius in the 1980s, Botswana, Swatini, Namibia, and Zimbabwe in the 1990s. After the millennium, Morocco, Mozambique and Nigeria have been added one after another. Since 2010, KFC has added 16 new locations across Africa. Although there are not many branches in some countries, compared with Burger King and McDonald's, the first American fast food brother, KFC has indeed established its presence in Africa earlier, and its ambition to capture the African middle-class population market should not be underestimated.