How one of Britain’s fastest growing restaurant brands is disrupting kebab culture

Stepping off the Bakerloo line onto the bustling Edgware Highway in central London, hungry passersby are met by no scarcity of lunch choices.

The stretch up the street from Marble Arch and its surrounding space have been a magnet for brand new arrivals from the Center East because the nineteenth century and the time of the Ottoman Empire.

Now dwelling to dozens of eating places and takeaways boasting Lebanese, Greek, Egyptian and Turkish cuisines, amongst many others, the world identified at one time as ‘Little Beirut’ is maybe greatest identified for one dish particularly – kebabs.

The standard kebab has been a staple of Britain’s takeaway scene since a minimum of the Nineteen Eighties and Edgware Highway is among the many most crowded markets you’ll discover anyplace within the nation.

An odd alternative, maybe, for a challenger from a tradition that has till comparatively lately been alien to the British kebab scene – Germany.

German Doner Kebab – or GDK – chief govt Simon Wallis admits some preliminary shock when he discovered a franchisee was opening an Edgware Highway department.

‘However this retailer trades rather well,’ he says over a rooster doner wrap, full with chips, dip and a tender drink (£13.48 from the Tooting department, in accordance with Deliveroo, although costs differ in some franchises).

‘The world has some affinity with the product,’ Wallis provides, however he doesn’t see the native excessive road kebab vendor as a direct competitor.

‘We’re a fast service restaurant (QSR) model, however we’re a premium QSR as a result of our pricing is a bit greater than McDonald’s, for instance.

‘There aren’t many QSR manufacturers that may lay declare to have greater than 100 eating places within the UK and take greater than £20,000 per retailer per week.

‘It’s a brief record of McDonald’s, Domino’s, KFC, in all probability Burger King – and us.’

If GDK’s reputation is stunning – it made a £1.3million revenue in 2023 – it matches the tempo of its progress and the size of the model’s ambition.

The model had grown to 177 shops by the top of 2024, propelled by 50 increasing franchisees, and it plans to open one other 25 this yr within the UK alone. It’s Britain’s second quickest rising restaurant model behind Wing Cease.

There are roughly 15,000 impartial kebab eating places within the UK, however GDK could be the primary to make successful of the franchise mannequin.

‘GDK has the chance to do with kebabs what McDonald’s did to burgers, what KFC did to rooster, what Domino’s did to pizza or Subway did to sandwiches,’ says Wallis.

Altering perceptions on kebabs

Doing so would require additional work to breakdown surprisingly sturdy British convictions about precisely when and the place it’s applicable to eat a kebab.

‘Basically, the good British public have gotten this affiliation [with kebabs] that you just solely ever eat them at about 2.30am,’ Wallis says, reflecting on polling knowledge carried out a couple of years in the past.

Profitable hearts and minds required a classy ‘Doners Worthy of Daylight’ marketing campaign launched in autumn, designed to ‘reverse these nationwide stereotypes’, Partitions says. It featured shiny photographs of younger and trendy fashions consuming a kebab within the daytime.

In actuality, simply 4 per cent of GDK’s commerce comes after 11pm and it has had early success with the launch of a breakfast menu – although the group is trying to develop later buying and selling hours with some franchise companions.

GDK has additionally constructed model consciousness and a rising buyer base with tie-ups with musicians – together with partnerships with the likes of Metal Banglez and Krept & Konan – a nicely as native trend and sports activities scenes.

The provide of signature sauce and spice mixes can be acquainted to kebab lovers, however GDK differs from a typical excessive road kebab in some essential methods.

Most clearly, the customary lamb doner meat is changed by beef or rooster shavings, whereas the kebab is served in GDK’s signature waffle bread.

Salad – very recent on That is Cash’s go to – is domestically grown and ready on website, whereas GDK is dipping its toes in more healthy menu choices and even provides a post-workout choice with its Doner Gymnasium field, which incorporates ‘as much as 40g’ of protein.

‘It is necessary to face out,’ says Wallis. ‘Significantly within the UK the place you’ve gotten a lot impartial competitors’.

GDK is attempting to do for kebabs what McDonalds did for burgers 

Coming to America

Whereas GDK counts the UK as its dwelling market, the model additionally trades in Sweden, Saudi Arabia, the US and Canada, every of which presents its personal challenges to satisfy native appetites.

In Saudi Arabia, for instance, GDK portion sizes are smaller and there’s a larger give attention to worth, whereas the US market required the launch of a now-popular salad bowl choice.

‘It’s actually necessary for a model to grasp what it stands for and what its place is,’ says Wallis, who joined GDK in 2023 after 13 years with Domino’s Pizza .

‘However a model ought to at all times localise its flavours and style.’

From a monetary perspective, the push into North America has been essentially the most difficult a part of GDK’s progress story.

Essentially the most lately revealed monetary accounts for GDK’s Edinburgh-based father or mother group Hero Manufacturers reveals the model absorbed losses of £1.4million within the US in 2023.

‘It’s necessary to be pragmatic,’ Wallis provides. ‘In case you’re going into a brand new market, it may take a little bit of time to get it proper.

‘These losses have been incurred as a result of we have arrange a provide chain, head workplace infrastructure and the authorized framework to permit us to franchise in all of the states we need to franchise in over there.

‘To get it proper and unlock the chance within the States and Canada, it’s about holding centered on the economics, bettering our franchisee profitability, and demonstrating equally compelling financial mannequin to promote these channels.’

GDK collaborated with UK hip hop duo Krept & Konan to advertise their album Younger Kingz II with a signature Boss Field meal 

Robots to ‘grasp the meat’

The tempo of GDK’s enlargement, significantly within the UK, has been spectacular. However Wallis is in no rush.

‘I’ve undoubtedly turned down extra new retailer alternatives in our month-to-month funding committee conferences than I’ve accredited,’ he says.

‘It is actually necessary for us to solely open in the appropriate location, with the appropriate franchise associate and in the appropriate format shifting ahead.’

The speedy focus as an alternative is turns to price and retailer profitability.

‘We noticed franchisee profitability enhance final yr, and we count on franchisee profitability to enhance once more this yr, and that is been executed by driving down our meals prices,’ says Wallis.

‘And we count on franchisee profitability to enhance by round £480 pound per retailer per week this yr, as a result of there are additional modifications we’re making to try to offset the affect of continued labour inflation.’

Not only for 2.30am: GDK makes an attempt to shift British attitudes in the direction of kebabs 

Wage inflation for companies stays frustratingly excessive and was operating at 5.9 per cent within the remaining three months of 2024, in accordance with knowledge from the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics.

And, as labour inflation continues to weigh on the hospitality sector throughout the nation, companies will even shoulder the next nationwide residing wage and nationwide insurance coverage contributions from April.

For GDK, the response will embrace eradicating as a lot labour from its franchisee’s payrolls as attainable. It has set a goal of being 20 per cent extra productive with its labour drive this yr.

This implies larger reliance on self-service kiosks, a ‘sensible kitchen’ back-of-store working mannequin, and makes an attempt to have some duties carried out off website and earlier within the provide chains.

However some jobs aren’t greatest suited to a human workforce.

Wallis says: ‘We’re in trial this yr with extra robotic shavers – these are robots that may lower the meat.

‘We need to put ourselves ready that we are going to mandate any new restaurant that opens in 2026 will solely have robotic shavers, and that drives an enormous labour profit.

‘A robotic cuts the meat the identical each single time. In our enterprise, mastering your meat is the important thing factor that is going to drive profitability.’

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