Freshly Chopped expands to six new countries
Brian Lee, founder and CEO of Freshly Chopped partners with Fresh Food Fast Company to open 120 new stores in Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden
Print4 January 2022
Healthy fast food retailer Freshly Chopped recently signed a new partnership deal with the Dutch company FFF International Holding B.V. (Fresh Food Fast Company) that will see the Freshly Chopped brand open 120 new outlets in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden over the next five years.
Launched in Dublin in 2012, Freshly Chopped already has over 60 stores already across Ireland, the UK and Cyprus and employs over 1,000 people.
Brian Lee, founder and CEO of Chopped, says the new partnership represents “an incredible announcement for Freshly Chopped”.
“When we opened our first Freshly Chopped in 2012, we were driven by an absolute hunger to make it as easy as possible for people to eat healthy,” Lee said. “Signing this deal to bring the brand to six new countries is a great moment for us and another important milestone on our global rollout. Without a doubt, 2020 and 2021 have been difficult years for everyone but we know that whatever happens, customers across the world want convenient, fresh, healthy food and there is no brand better than Freshly Chopped at meeting this demand.
“We had a lot of options and offers to bring Freshly Chopped to the continent but we know that partnering with Hans Wingender and the team at Fresh Food Fast Company is the ideal solution to bring our trademark healthy fast food to as many customers as possible,” he continued. “For over 20 years, Hans has worked for the largest fast food organisations in the world and knows better than anyone that the average European consumer is changing and becoming increasingly sensitive and demanding on provenance and health credentials. Fresh Food Fast Company have the right passion and energy to grow Freshly Chopped into an important and successful franchise brand in Europe.”
The master franchise deal will see Fresh Food Fast Company own the Freshly Chopped master franchise until 2032. The first location will open in February in Leiden with a further seven outlets planned to open in the Netherlands in 2022. Both company and franchise restaurants will then open across Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden over the next five years.
Hans Wingender, managing director of Fresh Food Fast Company, is confident about the brand’s growth prospects.
”For over 20 years, I have worked in leadership positions in the fast-food industry across Northern Europe,” he said. “In this time, the customer has changed with a very large shift and demand for healthier options at the right price and fast. It is my strong belief that leading food brands must be able to respond to this and play a more active role in offering healthier food at the right price and for the past number of years.
“Global brands must be able to respond locally to these trends and play a more active role in serving the needs and trends underpinning local markets using local knowledge,” Wingender added. “I have been exploring brands that could do this. In 2020, when I first encountered Freshly Chopped, I knew this was the brand that we could grow across Europe.”
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