Americana, the largest quick-service restaurant operator in the MENA region, plans to start a new poultry feed plant in Ethiopia to support its business, according to its chairman.

“I am really excited about starting a poultry feed plant in Addis Ababa,” Mohamed Alabbar told the Future Hospitality Summit in Abu Dhabi on September 26, as quoted by Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.

“In the Arab world, we have a shortage of chicken feed … 65% of the cost of the chicken is the feed and none of us in the Arab world is able to produce the feed because we don't produce soya, we don't produce corn.”

Americana opened 108 new stores during the first half of 2023, bringing its total restaurant count to 2,277 stores as of the end of June. At that point, it anticipated add 250 new restaurants by the end the year, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia.

Alabbar did not reveal how much the company is planning to invest in the Ethiopian project or when it was expected to launch.

Americana raised $1.8bn from its initial public offering in November 2022 and was dual-listed on Saudi Arabia's main Tadawul market and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the Arab world’s two largest stock markets.

Founded in Kuwait in 1964, the company introduced fast-food restaurants in the region in 1970. It is the largest out-of-home dining operator in 12 countries across the MENA region and Kazakhstan, and operates restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut and KFC.