Hooked On Fish, FreshStop’s in-house fish and chips brand, offers customers a healthier fast food option, and as the 2nd most popular protein after chicken in South Africa, there are high expectations for future sales and growth potential in this market. According to Joe Boyle, Director at FreshStop, “With fish being the fastest growing food segment in South Africa, based on the number of outlets opened during the past few years, we expect Hooked On Fish to do very well. Since the first Hooked On Fish outlet opened at FreshStop Amber Service Station in Gauteng in November 2014, the concept has been a winner. Customer feedback has been very good and the concept fits in well with our other brands, such as Crispy Chicken. We have, to date, opened four Hooked On Fish outlets and we are planning to roll-out an additional five by the end of the 2016”.
In contrast to the national popularity of fish and chips, Mr Brown’s, a smoked BBQ product that originates from the Southern USA, has been introduced by FreshStop as a new regional concept. Mr Brown’s is a standalone brand that has partnered with FreshStop and has three outlets open in Hillcrest, Gilletts and Cato Ridge in the Durban area. “The Mr Brown’s product offering has done extremely well in KZN, and in Hillcrest specifically, where it contributes 14% to the store’s sales participation,” explains Davis.
FreshStop’s latest venture, an exciting burger/mixed grill concept called Grill to Go, opened its first outlet at FreshStop Penlyn in Cape Town in December 2015. “Grill to Go is a completely new concept that we’ve been working on for the past year and it has received a lot of interest from our retailers so far, so we’re confident that it is going to do very well. Our 2nd outlet opened in Maclear in the Eastern Cape in January and our 3rd opened in Mafikeng in June 2016, with another five outlets planned this year”, adds Davis.
FreshStop’s approach gives franchisees a basket of food offerings to choose from to suit their specific customer base and location, at affordable entry costs. According to Boyle, “Our Store Retailers want to be in a position to offer their customers new brands and food lines to attract further shoppers and drive sales. Retailers can also select various concepts that complement one another, such as a Seattle Coffee and Doughnut Delite; or a selection of two proteins such as Crispy Chicken and Hooked On Fish to cover various target markets. Convenience retail brands must have a solid food strategy to be successful and our selection of fast food concepts with low costs of entry and shared operational expenses form part of the future view of our business”.
FreshStop, named International Convenience Retailer of the Year 2013, is South Africa’s fastest growing 24-hour convenience store brand and has a network of 236 stores countrywide.
For more information:
Website: www.freshstop.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/freshstop
Twitter: @FreshstopSA
