Fast food business booms in the crisis

The UAE’s fast food restaurants are enjoying an increase in business during the downturn and many well known chains plan to open more outlets this year.

As residents look to save money on their food bills burger chains and ice cream stalls are benefiting from an increase in trade as cheaper, comfort food becomes more popular.

Georgie Thomas, marketing manager for Galadari Ice Cream Gulf Region, which is the world’s largest franchisee of Baskin Robbins with 400 stores, said there had been a rise in sales in the first few months of 2009.

“If we compare same store sales we are seeing positive results from the beginning of the year to the present date of 15 per cent increase over the previous three months,” he said.

“As of now we are not seeing a downturn and people are still eating our ice cream.

We also have plans for development for 40 stores in the region and we are going ahead with these plans.

“In the UAE we have recently opened a store in Palm Jumeirah in mid-March and Arabian Centre in Mirdiff.”

McDonald's makes $4.3bn

One of the most popular fast food restaurants in the UAE and worldwide is McDonald’s which made a net profit of $4.3bn for in 2008 up 80 per cent from $2.3bn the previous year.

Rafic Fakih, managing director, of Emirates Fast Food which owns the franchise in the UAE said they was in the process of opening a further six to 10 restaurants this year.

“We have already opened four new restaurants in Dubai Marina Mall, Safeer Mall (Ras Al Khaimah), Arabian Center (Dubai), and Kuwaitat Mall (Al Ain) since the beginning of 2009,” he added.

“We’re looking at opening six to 10 more restaurants in the UAE this year, distributed in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman and Al Ain.

“The business is still maintaining a steady growth pace.”

However, while business is brisk for fast food operators, there are concerns that this could have a detrimental effect on the country’s health.

Obesity

Studies have shown that 26 per cent of children aged five to 17 years suffer from obesity, which has largely contributed to the national diabetes epidemic, with the UAE now holding the second highest rate of diabetes in the world.

Dr Michael Bitzer, Chief Executive of the UAE’s largest insurance company Daman said obesity rates are dramatically increasing in the UAE and more initiatives were needed to counter the growth.

“[We need] to embed exercise as a hobby and healthy habit in the minds of our youth,” he added.

“It is crucial that we promote healthy living while they are young before bad habits become harder to deal with later on in their lives.”

In March Daman launched its 1.5 Million Steps competition – an educational initiative that will see 4,000 students from 40 Abu Dhabi schools try to reach the recommended 10,000 steps per day for a healthy lifestyle.

But while this is only a short measure in the fight for obesity, the bigger battle is to encourage a balanced diet with more fast food restaurants opening up every month.

Cravia, which has brands such as Cinnabon, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Zaatar W Zeit have described 2008 as a record year.

“In the UAE, we are considered as the most affordable quick service restaurant (QSR), which is one of the attributes that are positioning us at the forefront of QSR brands in the Emirates,” a spokesman said.

“We don’t foresee any major effects on our sales growth.”