Famous Brands, one of Africa’s leading branded food services franchisor, has opened its first Steers and Debonairs Pizza combo restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This opening follows the conclusion of master licence agreements with Mesra Retail & Café Sdn Bhd (Mesra), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB). The agreements grant Mesra exclusive rights to develop Steers and Debonairs Pizza restaurants across Malaysia.
Steers is known for its flame-grilled burgers and chicken dishes, while Debonairs Pizza’s popularity stems from its innovative pizza combinations.
“We have entered into a long-term partnership to develop a nationwide network of Steers and Debonairs Pizza restaurants, reflecting our ambition to grow these strong brands across different markets. Mesra is an excellent local partner thanks to its well-established presence, deep local knowledge and track record of serving local customer needs,” comments Darren Hele, CEO of Famous Brands.
Famous Brands will assist Mesra in rolling out the two brands to ensure operational efficiencies, consistency, product differentiation, the clever adoption of consumer-facing technology and authentic, localised customer experiences. Mesra, with support from Famous Brands, will develop a local supply chain to provide ingredients and products for use in Steers and Debonairs Pizza restaurants.
“This marks a defining moment for Mesra as we expand our non-fuel portfolio and enter the food and beverage market for the first time. With Debonairs Pizza and Steers, we are bringing Malaysians greater choice, exciting flavours and accessible global favourites with a dining experience tailored to local tastes,” says Ian Cruddas, CEO of Mesra.
“While Malaysia’s quick service restaurant sector is competitive, it has significant growth potential thanks to its entrenched culture of eating out and upper-middle-income demographic,” adds Hele.
Steers and Debonairs Pizza, while originally well-loved South African brands, have enjoyed success in several African markets through master licensing and franchising.
For Famous Brands, these expansion methods align with its core competence and leverage the expertise of local partners through long-term and mutually beneficial relationships.
“Steers and Debonairs Pizza operate in popular but competitive categories. We offer consumers value, invest in consumer-facing technologies and continually evolve our menus while retaining consumer favourites. We are looking forward to working with Mesra to introduce these trusted brands to Malaysian consumers,” concludes Hele.
