Chicken Licken (restaurant) facts for kids
 |
|
|
Trade name
|
Chicken Licken |
|---|---|
| Private | |
| Industry | Fast food |
| Founded | Ridgeway 1981 |
| Founder | George Sombonos (1930–2016) |
| Headquarters | , |
|
Number of locations
|
259 (2013) |
|
Key people
|
Chantal Sombonos |
| Products | Fried chicken |
| Revenue | R1.3 billion (2013) |
Chicken Licken is a popular South African fast-food chain. It is famous for its delicious fried chicken and other tasty meals. In 2010, Chicken Licken was one of the top fast-food brands in South Africa, just like McDonald's. An expert report from 2011 said that Chicken Licken is the biggest fried chicken company in the world that isn't owned by an American company.
Contents
The Story of Chicken Licken
Chicken Licken was started by a man named George Sombonos. His father was a Greek immigrant who owned a restaurant. George learned all about the restaurant business from his dad in the 1970s. Their family restaurant was called the Dairy Den, located in Ridgeway, a suburb of Johannesburg.
In 1971, another big chicken chain, KFC, came to South Africa. George wanted to offer something special too. In 1972, he traveled to the United States. While there, he bought a secret fried chicken recipe from a fast-food place in Texas for $1,000. He brought this recipe back to the Dairy Den.
During the 1970s, South Africa had strict laws called apartheid. These laws separated people based on their race. Black people were often not allowed in certain restaurants. In 1975, George found a way around this. He started serving black customers directly in their cars. The next year, in 1976, he introduced the idea of a drive-through restaurant at the Dairy Den. He got this idea from seeing them at Wendy's restaurants in the US.
After his father passed away in 1980, George opened the very first Chicken Licken restaurant in 1981. It was built right where the Dairy Den used to be. In 1982, he gave away the first two franchises for free. This was because Chicken Licken was new, and no one knew about it yet. These first franchises were in Soweto and Alexandra.
Being in these areas, known as townships, helped Chicken Licken become very popular with black South Africans. They became loyal customers. However, during the mid-1980s, there was a lot of unrest in the townships. This made it hard for the company to operate until 1991. Even after apartheid ended in 1994, the company's strong link to the townships sometimes made it challenging to grow in other parts of South Africa. George's daughter, Chantal, joined the company in 2001. She is now set to take over the family business.
Where You Can Find Chicken Licken
At first, new Chicken Licken restaurants were mostly opened in South African townships. But after 1994, many black middle-class families moved to other areas. So, Chicken Licken started opening restaurants in more upscale shopping malls and higher-income neighborhoods.
As of 2013, there were 247 Chicken Licken restaurants in South Africa. There were also 12 restaurants in Botswana. Only a small number of these, about 12 in South Africa, are owned by the company itself. The rest are franchises.
Chicken Licken has tried to open restaurants in other African countries, but it has been difficult. Restaurants in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Mauritius had to close. This was due to problems with the people running the franchises, getting enough chickens, electricity issues, and getting foreign money for ingredients. Restaurants in Lesotho and Swaziland also closed down due to business challenges.
Countries with Chicken Licken
- Botswana – 18 restaurants (as of 2021)
- South Africa – 250 restaurants (as of 2013)
The Chicken Licken Brand
In 1981, George Sombonos officially started his company, Golden Fried Chicken (Pty) Ltd. He registered the name Chicken Licken. This name came from the old fable of Henny Penny, and a waiter suggested it. Over the years, the restaurants and packaging have been updated. The menu also gets new items every year. However, the company's logo has stayed the same since 1981.
Chicken Licken makes food that suits the tastes of local people. Their most popular item is their hot wings, which were first introduced in 1992.
Some of the special names (trademarks) that Chicken Licken owns in South Africa include:
- Soul Food
- Full house
- Hot wings
- Popcorn Chicken
The company also owns the trademark for the word soul when it comes to restaurants and food services in South Africa.
Chicken Licken's food is usually more affordable than its main competitors in South Africa, like KFC and Nando's. In a 2007 survey, Chicken Licken was ranked second among fast-food chains in South Africa, right after KFC. This survey looked at how well people knew and trusted different brands.
Chicken Licken is known for its funny TV commercials. Early ads often featured actor Joe Mafela. He also created the company's famous jingle: "It's good, good, good, it's good its nice." Later, a character called Dr CL Phunk, played by actor Sydney Hall, appeared in ads. He would offer Chicken Licken as a cure-all for problems. In 2007, George Sombonos won an award for his advertising. This was for a commercial called "25 Yrs of Soul," which used the popular 1983 song "Burn Out" by Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse. He won another award in 2013 for his marketing leadership.
Suppliers
Chicken Licken gets its chickens from Rainbow Chicken Limited. This is South Africa's largest chicken producer. In the past, Chicken Licken has bought chickens from Brazil. This happened when Brazilian companies were selling chickens at lower prices than South African farmers. Chicken Licken gets its spices from Robertsons Spices, which is a brand owned by Unilever. The company uses special fryers made by Henny Penny. This American company makes cooking equipment used by other big fast-food chains like KFC and McDonald's.
