Just Falafel to operate more outlets in-house

Just Falafel CEO Fadi Malas has revealed the company will be investing in owning more outlets.

Speaking to Caterer Middle East, he explained: “We first owned four stores, which we then sold to our franchisees in 2011. When we started franchising, we thought we need two operating infrastructures to manage propriety stores or to manage franchisees. And if we were able to franchise, we’d rather sell our stores and focus on growth and only sell franchises.

“We own two stores today and now we want to go back to owning stores because we feel there is great value in store ownership and we’d like to have some ourselves as much as our franchisees." 

Just Falafel currently owns only two of its operating stores, in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre.

The company will begin owning stores in the UAE before considering outlets in other countries, said Malas. He explained: "We want to grow our ownership of stores primarily across the UAE because this is where the head office is, and then when we own enough stores in the UAE, we’ll own them somewhere else as well."

Just Falafel currently has five stores under development in the UAE and is looking at doubling the number of outlets in the country.

The company operates more than 50 stores around the world, with another 20 under development, and over 200 more signed projects across 18 countries.