The Yolk Brands founder said that the Dubai-born restaurant group is approaching a major expansion milestone as it pushes further into the Middle East and international markets.
Steve Flawith has set his sights on building a 1,000-store global restaurant portfolio as the Dubai-born group accelerates the international expansion of brands including Pickl and BonBird.
Speaking on the latest episode of AB Majlis, Flawith said Yolk Brands currently has around 50 restaurants across its UAE and international operations, with another 25 locations signed and in various stages of design and construction across 10 markets. “By Q1 next year, we’ll be hitting 100 stores,” he told Arabian Business.
The expansion marks a significant shift for a business that began with a single Pickl location in JLT around seven years ago. Flawith said he had initially never intended to become a restaurant owner, having spent years watching the high failure rate across the industry. Pickl, however, was designed with expansion in mind from the outset. That strategy is now extending beyond the Gulf.
Yolk Brands is preparing to enter Iraq, where 15 outlets are planned and three locations have already been signed and are being developed. Flawith described the country as an underserved consumer market with strong local produce and significant potential for restaurant operators.
The company is also considering Singapore and Hong Kong as potential hubs for expansion into Asia, while the UK could serve as its base for wider European growth.
Flawith said the success of Gulf-born restaurant concepts overseas reflected a reversal of a market once dominated by importing established Western franchises. “There’s amazing brands that we’re creating locally in the region,” he said, adding that it was increasingly possible for businesses created in the UAE to prove themselves at home before exporting their concepts internationally.
