- Title: BRAZIL: Arabic fast food chain Habib's is a hit in Brazil
- Date: 5th August 2008
- Summary: CUSTOMER EATING ESFIHA CLOSE OF ESFIHA ON PLATE CUSTOMERS EATING INTERIOR OF A HABIB RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) CUSTOMER AT HABIB'S, RUBENS DE OLIVEIRA, SAYING: "The flavour of the kibbeh and esfiha (typical Arabic foods) has a link to us. Brazilians love meat."
- Embargoed: 20th August 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Economic News
- Reuters ID: LVA5NSGUX7Q9YP5PEJS6F7DYOHT4
- Story Text: A fast food chain selling Arabic food has spread across Brazil and become the country's largest home-grown restaurant chain.
When it comes to fast-food, hamburgers and french fries are the first things that come to mind. But instead, Brazil's largest home-grown restaurant chain sells Arabic food.
Created in 1988 by a Portuguese immigrant who has no ties to the Arab world, Habib's saw its restaurants spread rapidly and today the chain has 305 outlets throughout Latin America's largest country.
Although Brazilians of Arab descent form no more than seven percent of the total population, this food chain sells every year an impressive 600 million "esfihas" -- a small flatbread topped with minced beef, chicken or cheese.
But Habib's is not all about the Middle Eastern food. To appeal to other tastes, pizzas, hamburgers, and french fries are also on the menu.
After a successful start, founder Alberto Saraiva standardized Habib's and saw an opportunity to expand his business by selling franchises.
The company's commercial director, Fernando Bruno, explained what he believes is the secret to the business' success.
"I think it is the context. Habib's was able to please the public with the three things I mentioned: quality, price and service," Bruno said, sitting in one of Rio de Janeiro's largest Habib's outlets.
Although this fast-food chain, with waiters and glass plates, may look more like a regular restaurant at first sight, it follows some U.S.-inspired traditions such as kids' menu with gifts, a drive-through and delivery services.
Even though more sophisticated dishes such as the hummus chick-pea spread and tabouleh salad, offered at low prices, helped Habib's attract its 150 million customers, it is the well-known kibbeh meat croquettes and esfiha savoury pastries that have made it so popular in Brazil.
To attract the low-income customers, these two snacks are priced as low as possible. Esfihas usually sell for 79 Brazilian centavos (about 49 U.S.
cents) each, with the price falling as low as 39 centavos under some special offers.
Customer Rubens de Oliveira believes it is the inclusion of meat that connects Brazilians to certain Arabic dishes.
"The flavour of the kibbeh and esfiha (typical Arabic foods) has a link to us. Brazilians love meat," he said.
The chain's widespread success recently took it to one of Rio's most famous locations, the Copacabana beach, where Habib's has opened a kiosk that sells nearly all the foods available in the chain's larger branches.
Its regional marketing manager, Luiz Eduardo Borges, said everything they sell is produced by the company itself.
"We have a service network that allows us to offer these prices, it's not magic. Against all market and business trends to hire out services, we decided to face this and centralize our production," Borges said at the opening night of the chain's branch on the Copacabana beach.
Saraiva founded a chain of 16 outlets before starting to sell franchises in 1992. Today, he owns about 45 percent of the chain's restaurants, while the rest are run on a franchise basis.
In 2001 Saraiva opened six restaurants in Mexico, but they recently closed due to mismanagement, according to Habib's management in Brazil. The food chain is currently studying other possibilities to expand abroad, especially to Argentina and Portugal, Habib's management says. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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