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ABR 2025 26(Entrepreneurial)printed 35 · PDF 45
102 pagesrevision 50940
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The fast food scene in Pakistan has
dramatically transformed in a span of
less than two years, with one prime
reason being at the center of it all. The
Hamas attacks on October 7th gave rise
to the Israel-Palestine conflict that
continues until this day. The war
compelled the Muslim community to
support their Muslim counterparts by
boycotting all and everything that was
associated with Israel. All the big brands
like KFC, Coca-cola, and Mcdonalds
came
under
the
category.
But
a
problem
arose.
Pakistanis
are
a
population with plenty of foodies who
dine
out
at
fast
food
restaurants
regularly. The local population panicked
and searched around for something to
take the place of the businesses that
they deserted, unaware, however, that
they needed to look only so far.
Numerous
small
to
medium-sized
enterprises took advantage of these
opportunities and promoted local fast
food chains that now reign supreme in
the Pakistani market. There are three
cases in point that immediately come to
mind when you consider this occurring.
CASE STUDY 1: KABABJEES FRIED
CHICKEN
In 1988, a restaurant chain called
Kababjees
became
operational
in
Karachi, primarily dealing in desi foods,
a world away from the fried chicken. But
it all changed after the initiation of the
boycott
movement,
and
people
deserted the gigantic fried chicken
chain,
KFC.
Seizing
the
golden
opportunity, in July 2024, Kababjees
launched a new restaurant in Karachi.
But this store was different from the
earlier Kababjees stores. This store had
the name of "Kababjees Fried Chicken".
Utilizing taglines like 'Thing Global, Eat
local', they ignited the fire of patriotism.
Also, it proved to be the ideal substitute
for KFC. These combined to bring
Kababjees fried chicken to a brand
value of 3 billion PKR within a year of its
inception.
CASE STUDY 2: CHEEZIOUS
Launched during the early-mid 2010s,
Cheezious was renowned for mixing
western food like pizza with Pakistani
touch. The largest instance of this is
King Crust Pizza, which is extremely out
of the ordinary and managed to have all
of Pakistan in a chokehold. Cheezious
was a fairly popular brand as of its birth
but it was thrust into the spotlight after
the boycott movement, which led
competition brands like Papa John's,
Domino's and Pizza Hut to lose business.
The locals started, and they liked
Cheezious more than other American
chains. One X user rightly replied: "Why
visit Pizza Hut when Cheezious is 10x
better and not against any zionist
agenda." Therefore, cheezious could
expand at a lightning pace, illustrating
the reality that Ksaykhao's 2025 guide
put Cheezious at number one in a list of
the top 10 best pizzas of Islamabad
CASE STUDY 3: COLA NEXT
First a relatively lesser-known Pakistani
drink introduced by Mezan Beverages,
Cola Next was kept in the shadows for
years, dwarfed by international giants
such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi. But then
came
the
2023–2024
boycott
movement, when Pakistani consumers
started boycotting American soft drinks
to opt for local options instead. Cola
35
Enterprise Edition