Lockdown takeaway boom fuels Chaiiwala’s international expansion plans

South Asian street food brand aims to have 189 stores open by 2023

Chaiiwala is planning to open an additional 52 stores per year for the next three years, as a result of the growth in demand for delivery services following the outbreak of coronavirus.

It’s been estimated the South Asian street food restaurant’s expansion would create 3,600 jobs by 2023.

The Leicester-based franchise currently operates 32 stores in the UK and is aiming to open restaurants in Manchester, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton, Northampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, with 40 locations due to open before the end of the year.

Explaining Chaiiwala’s success, franchise director Nil Naik said the street food concept was growing in popularity.

“As a South Asian street food provider with Western fusion, our food and drink offering resonates well with desi and ethnic demographic customers and our expansion plans centre around our aim to reach a wider audience,” he says.

“By opening bigger stores in new locations, we’re confident the brand will achieve a bigger reach and help more customers discover what we think is the best chaii in the UK.

“Since the pandemic, we’ve increased our delivery options across all third-party platforms, such as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat, and this has increased our takeaway sales by 10 per cent - with take out now accounting for more than 80 per cent of our sales.”

Of Chaiiwala’s international expansion plans, Nil revealed: “The first Chaiiwala locations will open in Canada in early 2021 and we have plans to expand in South Africa, Europe and the Gulf.

“In total we have sold 189 locations and will open 52 stores per year over the next three years, employing an additional 1,200 people per year until 2023.”