The following excerpt is from a March 11, 2010 article published by Business Week. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
The Guatemalan chicken chain established a niche with immigrants in the U.S. Now it’s hungry for more.
Carla Flores emigrated to Chicago from Honduras 27 years ago. Her husband, Eric Ruiz, moved from Guatemala. He never forgot his favorite chicken back home—and for that Flores is thankful. We’re talking about Pollo Campero, the fried chicken chain that’s the McDonald’s (MCD) of Guatemala and making a dent in the U.S. fast-food market, with 53 stores in 15 states since its 2002 arrival. Flores and her daughter, Eugenia, drive a couple of miles to a Pollo Campero in Chicago three times a month just to get a taste. “It brings us back to Guatemala,” says Eugenia.
Immigrants helped bring Pollo Campero to the U.S. Now, as part of the family-owned Guatemala City-based company’s global goal of reaching 1,750 franchises over the next decade, the chain is expanding beyond its Spanish-speaking base in places such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington. In the U.S. alone, Pollo Campero aims to grow tenfold, putting it on a collision course with established companies such as KFC (YUM) and Church’s Chicken, as well as rival up-and-comers like El Pollo Loco and Pollo Tropical (TAST)…
Click here to read the rest of the article, or here to read more articles related to the Guatemalan economy.
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