Kenchic was at one time one of the largest eateries in the country, with outlets spread out across various cities and towns in Kenya. However, the company has since closed down shop and has none of its stores open.
In 2016, the company announced that it was winding up operations in the eatery business and instead focus on the rearing and selling of chicks and chicken.
That year, then-Kenchic operations manager Phillip Carolan announced that the company would close its doors by March 31, 2016.
“With the current fast food market evolving rapidly in Kenya, Kenchic Limited has decided to withdraw Kenchic Inn from the market and concentrate on its core business of chicken processing,” a notice to customers and franchise holders stated.
At the time, Carolan explained that Kenchic would discontinue the brand’s operations and instead continue to supply to franchise owners and other eateries that wish to remain as their customers.
A report by the Standard on February 4, 2016, indicated that the company decided to end its fried chicken brand following a major shift in the fast-food industry.
Further reports indicated that the entry of other players in the industry dwarfed Kenchic Inn’s monopoly of the market. Reputable global brands such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Subway entered the local market, biting off a huge chunk of Kenchic’s customer base.
The foreign brands rapidly set up outlets in Nairobi and other major towns across the country, inserting their dominance in the multi-billion shilling sector.
Nairobi’s Moi Avenue was home to about 10 Kenchic Inn outlets, however, a few years down the line and none of them are left. In their place are other eateries that are not associated with the company’s brand.
Other Kenchic Inn outlets were moved to not so prime locations and died off due to poor customer turnouts.
“We have not been able to maintain the standards that we desire as a company, so when you have customers complaining of bad food, you can guess what that does to our brand,” an official at the company was quoted by the Standard as saying.
Kenchic was the country’s largest chicken processor and a major supplier of the birds to several eateries, grocery shops and its franchised outlets around Nairobi and other parts of the country.
With the decline of their eateries business, the brand was unable to ensure quality specifications are met despite owners of Kenchic Inn outlets having minimum standards to maintain.
Kenchic was unable to sustain its brand despite selling its signature fried chicken and chips combo for a fraction of what other brands were selling for.
