#chicken slice

I recently had a chat with a friend of mine about Zimbabwe’s 3 year old fast-food company Packers International. On the street depending on who you ask it’s referred to as Chicken Slice, Slicer or Slice and those names can refer to the company, a meal from the company or both. Whatever name you prefer Packers’ brands namely Chicken Slice, Creamy Slice, Pizza Slice, Slice Groceries and Slice Express are sparking a revolution in the local fast food business. So back to my conversation with said friend who happened to have had a discussion with an Innscor executive. If you not clued in Innscor runs the more established Chicken Inn and affiliated fast food brands. For two decades now, in local lingo Chicken Inn has been a byword for fast food, whether that’s a burger from Steers or a Quarter Chicken and Chips from Nandos, which by the way are operated in Zimbabwe by Innscor Africa.

So my friend says he raised the perceived threat Chicken Slice must be having on Chicken Inn but the Innscor suit dismissively answered “We are not worried about Chicken Slice, we are more concerned about McDonalds or KFC”. Fair enough, but that would be same KFC that beat a hasty retreat when Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation stoked kitchen became too hot. Having spent a big portion of my life in Bulawayo I still remember the inaugural KFC outlet was the coolest place in the city. So contrary to convention Bulawayo indeed does beat Harare to some things! At its peak KFC had a grand total of 2 outlets (as far as I know): one outlet in Bulawayo and another in Harare. The Harare KFC had the remarkable distinction of being the shabbiest and noisiest place in the CBD.

Maybe the Innscor exec was just bluffing; I say so because actions speak louder than words and looking at Innscor’s activities they are concerned. They are opening what seems like a large and well designed facility at Athenitis and expanding the Sports Diner facility along Samora Machel (opp. Holiday Inn). Their pricing has also changed reflecting Slicer’s more aggressive approach. Slice will give you a serving of 2 chicken pieces and a generous helping of chips for $4. On a recent trip i asked for chips at the Mvuma branch and was duly given more. Previously that price would have got you half that much at Chicken Inn - not any more. Chicken slice has resulted in a slicing of prices in the mass fast food market. Great news for the consumer.

Tawanda Mutyebere the 37 year CEO & Founder of Packers seems to have the entrepreneurial flair of the young Zed Koudounaris who started Innscor two decades ago with a loan from ZDB (Zimbabwe Development Bank now IBDZ). In branding his outlets Mutyebere clearly knocked off the Innscor brands (surely a better name than Creamy Slice could have been found). But his low prices, generous portions and best of all there are no restrictions on how many tomato sauce or vinegar sachets you can take! Small but big difference! The Zimbo loves his chips with lots of vinegar and tomato sauce and Mutyebere knows this. I’m not sure KFC (they’ve already failed in this market) or McDonald’s would have an appreciation of the little nuances of the Zimbabwean fast food consumer. Don’t get me wrong though those two are not successful globally for nothing, they do pay attention and relentlessly iterate until they get their local formula right whether it’s the menu, décor etc. The thing is for now, given Zim’s economic pariah status they may not be too interested in coming here. It’s the attack from within that will continue to characterize the local fast food market.

I suppose the thing that makes the fast food business attractive is because we live in a cash economy and it’s a great way to generate fast cash. A little fact that’s been noticed by the expansive guys at TN Holdings (now Lifestyle Holdings) who have launched a TN branded family of outlets using the same format as Innscor.

In remarks made at the recent opening of their Angwa Street food court, Mutyebere said his vision was to make Chicken Slice an international powerhouse. He’s definitely not lacking ambition and that is a laudable trait. The Angwa st facility is Mutyebere’s fourth outlet and is in a rather different location from his first which is in the small mining town of Mvuma, 192 km from Harare along the Masvingo road. It’s an unlikely location to start a company with international ambitions, but on reflection it looks like a stroke of genius. I remember seeing the Mvuma outlets on bus trips to South Africa. You can’t miss them because virtually every bus travelling to and from South Africa stops there, generating good business for Chicken Slice. I reckon a little thought of benefit, is that the Mvuma site allowed Mutyebere to grow his business outside the spotlight of the major urban centres, therefore not attracting the attention of gorillas like Innscor. By the time he opened outlets in Harare he had the brand, operational and financial muscle to compete with the big boys. He will definitely need it because in an industry where location is paramount he will find himself competing with Innscor for all the prime real estate. This is no small point because Zimbabwe's business landscape is littered with the carcasses of highly ambitious startups that received mortal blows from deeply entrenched incumbents. Witness how beverages giant Delta (an SABMiller associate company) has ruthlessly dealt with challengers.

Delta swatted Hunters lager (Nesbitt Brewery) like a pesky mosquito when it challenged its clear beer market stranglehold. Delta the bottlers of Coke again squelched a challenge by innovative RC Cola who had introduced PET bottles into the market. This convenient and brightly coloured packaging stole the thunder of the dull monochromatic coke bottles. One didn’t have to worry about paying and collecting a deposit on the bottle as you did with coke, fanta etc. RC also targeted hip high crowd events like international cricket matches to market their product. Soon Delta and Coca Cola Central Africa were feeling the pinch. Once it became clear that serious market share was being taken, Coca Cola’s response was swift, they sacked their executive team for sleeping on the job and after a lengthy running battle with more twists and turns not to mention gore than a Quinton Tarantino movie, Delta eventually bought out RC Cola. The high point or low point of the whole episode was Delta’s action of freezing out RC Cola from OK supermarkets (then a Delta subsidiary).

Therein lies the lesson from Mutyebere’s approach and success (so far). Thinking outside the box, an often abused statement in business does apply here. Starting in Mvuma was a stroke of genius. This enabled the business to capture custom from the Joburg bound buses (probably with the promise of a free meal to the bus crew), raised brand awareness with urbanites who frequently travel the route. Also long distance travelers carry more cash and therefore spend more. Mutyebere could not have achieved this on any other route even the Harare – Bulawayo highway would not have given him all these benefits. His expansion in Harare has been smart, initially picking up spots on the CBD periphery and close to the commuting hungry masses. And as mentioned before the genius was being under Innscors radar

But is this enough for Chicken Slice to replace Chicken Inn as the byword for fast food in Zimbabwe? On the basis of his record so far maybe, but the initiative is still with the incumbent. Chicken Inn has the scale and strategic assets (they own stakes in National Foods (chicken feed) and Irvine's (a major poultry producer)). Innscor also has the Zim fanchise for SA brands Steers and Nandos so they offer a wider menu and experience. Innscor also benefits from the great, funny, quirky and at times controversial advertising of Nandos. Another great example here. Nando’s advertising generates tremendous buzz for the brand. These are awesome assets that any business would desire to have, so Mutyebere has his work cut out.

In the medium term Mutyebere will be better served by continuing his strategy of placing outlets in peripheral locations (less expensive rentals), and high traffic areas (near commuter ranks – Market Square/ Fourth Street) rather than taking to the high street and competing head on with Chicken Inn. The market knows the brand and those who are mobile are willing to drive to the outlets. He also offers free delivery on all orders something Chicken Inn does not do. The marketing message can emphasize this because he needs to compensate for a smaller branch network (i.e. to capture customers who will find it easier to go to a Chicken Inn because its closer).