East Asia

Atlanta-based quick-service salad chain Dressed Salads opened its first restaurant in Hong Kong this past summer. Since then, CEO Chris Rork has learned a thing or two about the ins and outs of operating half a world away.

Though now part of the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong belonged to the British until 1997. Because of that history, the territory is unlike any other in the country.

“Hong Kong is very different from the rest of China,” Rork says. “[It] is very Westernized and is a fast-paced, high-energy city. In Hong Kong, time is money, so the [quick-service restaurant] is very relevant here.”

While American chains, including McDonald’s, Popeyes, Burger King, and KFC, have established a presence in Hong Kong, Rork says he would not consider them to be major players. British sandwich export Pret a Manger and homegrown concepts such as Mix, serving healthier fare like wraps and juices, and Café O, with its signature meter-long pizza, juices, and all-day breakfast, are more popular, he says.

Still, the adventurous palates of Hong Kong’s consumers leave room for others to break in.

“Chinese are very willing to try other cuisines,” Rork says, adding that the ability to “surprise and delight” is one key to attracting customers, along with great food and an appealing store aesthetic.

Quality, too, is vital, though Rork says sourcing ingredients can be problematic. Whereas in the U.S. all the ingredients on the Dressed Salads menu are readily available, in China the chain must rely on imports from as far off as Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. to maintain high product standards.

Overall, he says the most important factor in a restaurant’s success is choosing the right location, a task complicated by Hong Kong’s sky-high rents.

Middle East

High-end beverage concept, Dlush might have been born in the U.S., but most of its growth has taken place overseas. The seven-year-old specialty coffee, tea, and smoothie purveyor has only three locations in its native California, while six have sprung up in the Middle East.

Haidar Jaber, a 15-year veteran of the quick-service restaurant industry, is managing director for Dlush in the Persian Gulf region, where the brand has five stores in Kuwait and one in Dubai. This year, the company plans to add an additional outlet in Dubai and two more in Qatar. An aggressive expansion strategy also calls for future units in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon.

“Quick-service restaurants and casual dine-in business are two booming sectors in the region,” Jaber says. With a young population, thriving expatriate community, and booming tourism industry, it’s not hard to see why.

But the Middle East is by no means an undiscovered market.

“The competition is tough and getting tougher by the day,” Jaber says. Most of the major U.S. and European quick-service brands already have a presence, and local players selling ethnic food are also in the mix.

“Customer expectations [are] tending to become more and more sophisticated,” Jaber says. “They have been exposed to international brands that set the standards for excellence; that’s why in the region expectations are higher when it comes to international brands.”

Fried chicken, burger, pizza, and coffee concepts are already popular with the region’s consumers, but there might be an opportunity in the Mexican segment, which Jaber says isn’t popular because it hasn’t been executed well there.

To succeed, players need to realize that the Middle East isn’t a homogeneous market. Menu items will need to be tweaked for local taste profiles, though pork and alcohol should always be avoided in response to Muslim religious beliefs. Jaber also says menu items should be named according to the traditional language of the individual areas.