By opening a flagship restaurant in Antwerp, street food chain Pitaya is reinforcing its ambitions: to have 70 Benelux branches in seven years’ time. Next year, the first locations in the Netherlands and Luxembourg will open, says Marco Tessaro from investment platform Alpha Seed.
Exclusive licence
Pitaya opened its fourth Belgian restaurant in Antwerp on Wednesday. On the menu: Thai street food, with classics such as Pad Thai (with fried rice noodles), Sie Yai (with beef and udon noodles), Nua Kao (with beef and shrimp) or yellow curry. The chain, which started in the French city of Bordeaux in 2010, now has a total of 122 branches.
Alpha Seed, which has the exclusive licence for the Benelux, has big ambitions. CEO Marco Tessaro told RetailDetail: “We plan to open 30 branches in Belgium, 35 in the Netherlands and 5 in Luxembourg over the next seven years. We will operate one-third of the restaurants ourselves and franchise the others.” One large franchise partner has already been found: “We have signed a contract with a large franchisee who will open 11 branches in Flanders and 14 in the Netherlands.”
Healthy and affordable
Tessaro’s investment platform focuses on the rapidly growing industry of fast-casual restaurants: concepts that use the efficient process of the fast-food industry but offer better quality and experience. “Fast-casual is an enormously fast-growing segment: more than 10 per cent a year, despite Covid. It responds to all the new trends, to changing consumer habits and to digitisation. We want to invest in that segment: we are aiming for one new brand a year, and five in total.”
Pitaya has strong assets in that respect, the investor believes. The chain appears to be particularly successful in medium-sized cities, where customers have less choice in terms of fast-casual concepts. The offer is fresh and healthy and includes vegan options. The meals are prepared on-site, making the taste better than in the average fast-food chain, they say. The Asian cuisine is attractive, and the prices are accessible: “You can have a meal for 10 to 12 euros and for that amount, you get better quality than at the big fast-food players.”
Sufficient premises available
The concept is also quick and easy: the customer arrives, orders, pays, and then eats in or takes the meals home. Of course, you can also order online and have it delivered by well-known platforms. “The food sector fell a bit behind when it came to digitisation, but the Covid crisis has accelerated the process.” The superior customer experience is also an asset: Pitaya wants to be a proper brand with a sexy image.
In terms of finding locations, the timing is ideal: many properties are available at good locations, and rents are dropping. “We see a shift in the shopping streets from retail to food and beverage. We are surfing on that wave.” Alpha Seed hopes to attract prospective franchisees through word-of-mouth advertising. “To run a fast-food restaurant, you need less capital than you need for a supermarket or a branch of a traditional fast-food chain. Operationally, it is also less complex.”
Finding employees is the main obstacle: “There is a shortage of restaurant managers in particular: many people left the restaurant business during the Covid crisis. Nevertheless, Pitaya offers great career opportunities to young professionals with prior experience in food.”
