As the world emerges from global recession, the prospects look good for the rapidly expanding Barcelos brand. Ben Sansom discovers how good quality rustic Portuguese cooking has been turned into a global restaurant franchise.
Barcelos restaurants are instantly recognisable throughout South Africa by their emblem, the red cockerel. And so successful has the brand been that franchises are appearing throughout the states of southern Africa and reaching out globally, with restaurants opening as far afield as Singapore, London and Canada.
The brand can trace its origins back to 1993 when founder Costa Mazzis opened a single restaurant in Pretoria and began developing his business concept in a modest way. His vision was to take the rich authentic flavours and cooking techniques of northern Portugal and deliver them to a South African audience through the creation of a relaxed and picturesque dining environment. Naming the restaurant after a city in northern Portugal, he incorporated many of that location’s rich traditions into the business identity.
The famed cockerel, for example, refers to the ancient story of an old Galician pilgrim who had been sentenced to hang, but appealed to the judge saying that if he was innocent as he claimed, then the roasted rooster on the judge’s plate would get up and crow. According to legend, the scarlet plumed cockerel rose from the plate and crowed, and as a result the man was freed.
Having spent five years developing the brand, the Barcelos teamcommenced franchising it in 1998, and growth from that time has been rapid. Today, there are 98 branches in eight countries worldwide. In addition to South Africa, there are outlets in Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Nigeria, Singapore, England and Canada.
The company has embedded a range of management processes that not only safeguard the integrity of the brand but also provide a secure and reliable framework within which the franchisees and their businesses can flourish. To begin with, the Barcelos identity is strong, and aims to create a fine balance between the traditional healthy home-style cuisine of Portugal and the fast moving pace of today’s world, attracting not only those looking for a quick takeaway, but also families searching for an enjoyable dining experience.
At the heart of the Barcelos experience is spicy flame-grilled chicken, marinated for 24 hours prior to cooking, and prepared according to authentic Portuguese tradition. The marinades come in a choice of four flavours: tangy lemon, mild peri, very peri and the scorching supa peri. Using only the best quality spices blended to a secret recipe, the marinades are produced to strict international standards at a central processing facility, and then distributed to local outlets and shipped to restaurants abroad. The facility also manufactures and bottles its sauces and marinades, ready for retail to the customers.
Because the restaurant concept is based on traditional Portuguese cooking styles, every restaurant is designed in such a way that from their tables customers are able to see their food being prepared and cooked for them. And the design is also managed and coordinated from the company’s headquarters. Firstly, there is a planning and design department responsible for designing every element of restaurant appearance, keeping it fresh and revamping and updating the current portfolio of restaurants. All the internal fixtures, fittings and furnishings are manufactured to these designs by an in-house team of professional joiners. When new franchisees join the company, the same teams oversee the design, construction, fitting out and furnishing of new restaurants.
Secondly, the company has created a fully equipped graphic design and digital print studio staffed by a professional design team that manages all the advertising, marketing and web design. Aware that branding and marketing are absolutely essential for the success of new outlets, the company provides all the advertising material for store openings, including menu panels, posters, banners, printed menus and pamphlets as part of the store opening complete package.
Speed of service within the restaurants is something that has also been perfected over a long period of time, and is due to a combination of factors—from thorough staff training and the installation of the most efficient and modern catering equipment, through to the implementation of advanced electronic point of sale (EPOS) order processing systems throughout the business. Used both at the front and back of house, these systems facilitate efficient order processing. Not only are orders input from touch screens in the restaurant and printed out in the kitchen, but the system enables managers to monitor and analyse food costs and ordering trends and take remedial measures should problems occur.
Of course, the quality of the people operating the franchises is absolutely critical to their success. Barcelos therefore has a rigorous screening and interview process for every new franchise application that essentially looks for service-oriented individuals prepared to be owner operators, who are not afraid of the long and necessary hours of hard work and will conform to the brand standards and requirements.
Meanwhile, the location of a proposed restaurant is vitally important. To ensure the business attracts sufficient custom, Barcelos operates three simple golden rules: the restaurant should enjoy a high visibility location, the shop front should open along the full width of the store, and there should be a high volume of foot traffic past the shop front.
In return, successful franchisees have the benefit of a well established business model supported by the latest technology and business processes, and a range of dedicated support services. While a new premises is being built and fitted out, for example, Barcelos will interview and appoint staff to operate the outlet.
A comprehensive training programme is then provided for all franchisees, managers and staff from an in-house training academy located at company headquarters. Once the business begins to operate, the support continues through a dedicated Barcelos operations team, who intensively assist the franchisees and outlet managers over the initial opening period and then continue to give regular support and assistance, playing a key role in communications between the corporate head office and the operational outlets.
With the global economic crisis now showing signs of abating, the company believes there are huge opportunities for taking this well established food brand worldwide. Having established outlets on four continents, Barcelos has proven itself in the international arena, and the network of outlets looks set to continue growing and developing.
