THE RISE & FALL OF THE BIGGEST FAST FOOD COMPANY IN AFRICA: From A Heroic Beginning To An Epic Fall!

What happened to the BIGGEST & most loved fast food restaurant in Nigeria?

What is behind their downfall?

How did they go from having the largest market share in the quick food space to losing it all?

Dearest Reader, this is the story of Mr BIGGS… and it’s a lonnnggg one 😔😂 But I promise that it will be worth it 😍❤️ 

Just to make it worth your while, here is a burger for you ☺️

Now, let us begin…

WELCOME TO MR. BIGGS

…WHERE EVERY MEAL IS A DELICIOUS EXPERIENCE

To many of us who hold a delicious memory of Mr. Biggs, it’s sad to see how they went from 100 to literally 0. Especially if you run a business, learning about the FALL OF MR. BIGGS will help you avoid certain pitfalls in business.

Mr. Biggs used to be a wonderful spot, if not the best spots to go to on special occasions like Valentine’s Day, Christmas Day, Birthdays etc.

When one wants to go on a special date, take someone out or simply take beautiful pictures… Mr. Biggs was your go to spot (this in itself is a virality effect… a blog-topic for another day).

In most towns you would find a Mr. Biggs restaurant, with their captivating branding, their incredible Meat pie 😂😂😂 & delightful services which made them a lovable brand. They were literally working on becoming the McDonald’s of Africa…

Or so we thought.

With expansion plans into other African countries, Mr. Biggs was unstoppable. At the time, its operation was across 29 states in Nigeria alone and 170 locations.

Backed by its parent company, UAC Foods, it was storming and taking over major cities in Nigeria.

Dearest Reader, for your information UAC Foods is not a baby company, they are a giant and a force in the market. Founded in 1931, the company is about 93years old today and it’s the company behind Swan Water, Debonairs Pizza, Funtime and Gala.

So, how can a brand as BiG as this fail?

Well, some said it failed because new fast food brands entered the market.

For me, it’s just like saying Google failed because new search engine brands entered the market.

It’s not that this is preposterous though. Because, I mean, Yahoo search engine looked too big to fail, until Google made them so small you have to use Google search engine to find them. Oops (*shades thrown😂)

Nokia & Blackberry looked too big until iPhone, knocked them black and blue and they were kicked out of the phone market. By the way, if you’re a business owner or a career person, constantly upgrade your skill to stay relevant. Here is where you can do that… Creative Chaos Marketing Institute (CCMI)

Back to our story…

Let us briefly look at Mr. Biggs past to help us understand how they moved from Mr. Biggs to Mr. smalls.

Created 49years ago (1973) 3years after the Nigerian Civil War, but originally its history began in coffee shops inside Kingsway Department Stores in the 1960s. However, a major rebranding of the coffee shops took place in 1973 (we’ll later see another rebranding move by them in later years and one happening as of the time of writing this… however, silently). The rebranding effort was successful. The rebranded coffee shops became known as Kingsway Rendezvous, and later Mr Biggs in August 1986.

According to UAC,

“Mr. Bigg’s Quick Service Restaurant concept emerged in August 1986 as a result of intensive consumer research aimed at identifying what the Nigerian consumer would like to experience on a visit to an ideal QSR.”

Using the Franchising Model the business saw rapid expansion in major cities in Nigeria and Ghana. If you are reading this and you don’t know much about Franchising, let me explain with a definition from an expert…

“Franchising, or a business franchise model, is a contractual business model or relationship whereby an established brand, known as the ‘franchisor,’ allows an independent business owner, or franchisee, to use its branding, business model, and other intellectual property. In return, the franchisee agrees to pay an upfront franchise fee, plus ongoing royalties to the franchisor.” – Tulane

So, the big question is, why did they fail?

1. Too Big To Fail Mentality

Mr. Biggs was really BIG and they had the first mover’s advantage. They were literally the first fast food restaurant which Nigerians fell in love with. Getting up there wasn’t easy, but staying up became a problem.

Mr. Biggs got comfortable at the top. And for this reason, its fall was epic. No one gets comfortable at the top, a thousand different others are gunning for the spot.

You loose guard, you lose.

So, remember as much as you’re working to get to the top, you’ll work 10x to stay there.

2. Competition

The one thing Mr. Biggs had was a strong brand popularity. It was a beloved brand and it also had goodwill. These two key things could have been used to kill off competitions before they became stiff. But Mr. Biggs didn’t realize how the entrance of new players would disrupt customer loyalty and staff loyalty (just like what Bolt did to Uber in Nigeria. Story being developed for another blog-post).

When Tantalizer, Chicken Republic & KFC began to expand, it became pretty over for Mr. Biggs which couldn’t figure out how to rebrand and reposition itself.

3. Bad Leadership

The success or failure of any company or country depends on its leaders. That’s why it baffles me when people say the real problem of Nigeria is not its leaders, it’s the people. Are you dumb or high on cheap drugs?

Nobody in their sane mind would say that. The legendary wordsmith Chinua Achebe puts it best, “Nigeria has only one problem and it’s the problem of leadership.” Leaders put effective structures and system in place for people to follow.

I believe Mr. Biggs had the same problem. Bad leadership led to bad decisions, those decisions crumbled the company.

The success/failure of your brand depends on you. Though your staffs or team will play vital roles, if you succeed it’s on you, if you fail, it’s also on you.

4. Varieties of Desire

As a brand, Customers Feedback is very vital to the growth of your brand. Mr. Biggs was too big to listen to its customers when they were asking for varieties in meal options. it soon became a spot for ‘children’. Adults asking for local delicacies were ignored. And this was what the competitors saw and took advantage of.

Here’s what the then Acting Marketing Manager, UAC restaurants, Eustesia Ogunsusi said to newsmen in 2014, “From the end of this month, a new set of menus will be launched and the outlets will start wearing a new look. A lot of outlets will be shut down if we find that they are not complying with the quality and standard of service stipulated by the UAC.”

But then it was already too late. Listen to your customers! Listen beyond what they are saying and provide those things before they even say it..

5. Bad Management

It was reported that the walls began to crack when a new policy on quality control was put in place. To better understand this let me explain something.

There are different kinds of Franchise models. However the three most commonly used ones are:

1. Business Format Franchise

2. Product Franchise

3. Manufacturer Franchise

The adoption of the franchising model of business made Mr. Biggs grow so fast and expand so quickly. This was a delight to its leaders and investors and the plan was to continue the growth curve. Mr. Biggs used the Business Format Franchise. 

What is a Business Format Franchise Agreement?

Business Format Franchise:

“This is the most common type of franchise arrangement. In this Model, the franchisor allows a third party to do business using their trademarks and business model in exchange for fees and a recurring percentage of sales revenue. Franchisees under this model are run according to the parent company’s guidelines and rules.” – Tulane

Pay attention to these words, “Allow a third party to do business using their trademarks & Business Model in exchange for FEES & RECURRING PERCENTAGE OF SALES REVENUE.”

Mr. Biggs failed to realize that their walk-in customers were not their only customers their Franchisees were also their customers/partners. And as a business you should always look for ways to treat your customers better. In my opinion, good management of the situation before the franchisees started closing shops would have been better.

Poor management killed the biggest fast food restaurant in Nigeria.

Lesson: Learn ways to create working relationship with your customers. It is true that you’ll meet those who will frustrate the hell out of you, like I am sure some franchisees did with Mr. Biggs.

You’ll always meet customers like that. You have to find a way to handle the situation. Mr. Biggs probably realized too late the depth of damage some of its franchisees had done to the business before they tried to create new policies to correct what was already damaged. Mr. Biggs was killed but the Fast Food industry has continued in its growth curve.

Another thing that killed Mr. Biggs was..

6. Loss of Culture

Most Nigerian businesses have this in common. Dem get starting, dem no get finishing. You’ll see that new Buka Spot on opening day serving hot delicious meals and offering heavenly experience. Give it a few months, you’ll wonder if it was the same place you had come before.

Mr. Biggs did the same thing, Soon the quality of service dropped drastically. Verbal harassment and trading of words between customers and staffs began. The food quality also took a nose dive. Meat pie began tasting like spiced sawdust, their rice became 5&6 with Vedan Seasoning and soon flies started frequenting their show-glasses. Before we knew it, they had more flies and cockroaches in their poorly maintained spots than they had customers walking in. Mr. Biggs could have listened to the complaints of its customers & adjusted.

Most businesses make that mistake. Negative feedback makes them defensive. No. No. Use that feedback for your own growth advantage. Mr. Biggs made the mistake of not listening, don’t make that same mistake.

What is the way forward for Mr. Biggs? Maybe if they hire me as their Growth Strategist to revive the brand and help it to thrive they might have a chance 😂

Anyway, in your opinion what is the way forward for Mr. Biggs?

Is there still hope for them as they are trying to come back? Please comment your thoughts 🙏🏾

Yours Biggily,

N.C. Desmond