Food Concepts Plc was incorporated on 6 December 1999 as Food Concepts & Entertainment Limited and commenced operations in 2000. The Company was converted from a Private Limited Liability Company into a Public Limited Liability Company and the Company’s name was subsequently changed to Food Concepts Plc. by a Special Resolution dated 10 May 2009.
Following its incorporation, Food Concepts secured franchises from reputable South African Quick Service Restaurant operators to manage and operate their brands in Nigeria. The Company subsequently acquired and developed other Brands, such as, Chicken Republic, PieXpress, Butterfield, Yum Yum and The Chop Box.
Following a corporate restructuring and divestment, the Company now owns and operates the Chicken Republic, PieXpress and The Chop Box brands as its proprietary food brands.
Chicken Republic is currently trading in over 150 locations across Nigeria and Ghana and has plans in place to operate 430 stores by the end of 2024.
PieXpress began trading in 2019 and we presently operate 75 stores in Nigeria, with plans in place to operate 247 PieXpress units by the end of 2024.
In 2021 we launched our new brand, The Chop Box and presently have one outlet in Lagos.
“To be the most loved quick service restaurant and baked goods brands across West Africa”
“To remain relevant as we stretch our limits to go above and beyond to deliver excellent customer experiences, great tasting products and every day affordable value.”
“People Capability Always” is a driving force in our business. On this basis, our Human Resources Division and purpose-built training centres are designed to train, upskill, and develop the capability of every person that we employ on an ongoing basis.
We also recognise and reward our people with competitive salaries and various incentive programmes.
We hold Staff Forum Meetings, during which Staff Representatives from across the business get the opportunity to meet to discuss concerns and make suggestions to improve the business, as well as receive updates on business performance. This provides the business with valuable feedback on ways to improve operations and the working lives of our employees.
We also hold quarterly communication meetings, where managers across the business receive updates on business performance and get the opportunity to ask the Executive’s questions.
Our ambitious expansion plans, makes the need to develop our team greater than ever before. Going forward, we will focus on developing more managers, as well as enhancing their managerial and leadership skills to ensure additional value across the business.
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LOVEWe are passionate, relevant, caring, respectful and committed. |
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OWNERSHIPWe act with integrity and take pride in ourselves, our company and country. |
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VALUEWe add value to everyone and in everything we do. |
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EXECUTIONExecution is what we do best. |
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DRIVEWe take initiative and push forward to exceed expectations and achieve our goals. |
People Capability Always is based on the idea that you don’t build a business, you build people and people build the business. This is the ideology of the Human Resources Department, working together with the divisions, to actualise the objectives and goals of the organisation. On this basis, we train, develop talent, recognise and reward our people, whilst enriching their lives and growing our business in the process.
Our Recruitment Philosophy
Food Concepts is committed to creating a diverse environment across our business and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and promotion without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability or age.
Recognition & Reward
As the business grows, we continually seek opportunities to reward our people for their contribution and commitment. We pay our staff competitive salaries and offer various incentives programmes. For those working in revenue generating divisions, your reward is in your hands! The harder you work towards delivering your targets the more you earn. We also have a Product of the Month incentive, which is paid to store employees who have exceeded their sales targets, as well as, an employee of the month incentive, which is based on a peer-to-peer nomination system. Each year, all employees across divisions have the opportunity to earn a performance bonus, which is based on a combination of company, division and individual performance.
Training & Development
At Food Concepts, all new employees, regardless of their position in the organisation, start their induction at the heartbeat of our business…in our stores.
We have state-of-the-art training centres, through which we have trained over 3 000 employees. To support our aggressive expansion plans and our commitment to grow talent internally, we have implemented the OMEGA Development Program. This program has been instrumental in training and developing our people to ensure they are well prepared for their career growth and promotion into management roles.
Our world of innovation places great value in recruiting, retaining, developing and rewarding the highly talented individuals who take charge of their career whilst we provide the enabling environment to nurture it.
Our Operations Division is responsible for the daily operations of our Chicken Republic, PieXpress and The Chop Box Brands. This division is focused on driving sustainable, year-on-year profitability by growing top-line sales and managing our operational expenses. Our key focus is to build strong people capability that enables an enhanced customer experience, with great quality food at everyday affordable prices. We are heavily focused on driving speed of service and creating an environment that is clean, fresh, well-lit and hygienic, whilst applying a disciplined approach to delivering operational excellence.
We have a clear focus on our key performance indicators:
People Development
Sales Growth & Profit Growth
Operational Excellence
Our Property Development & Franchising division continues to grow, with the addition of new franchise stores, the opening of new company stores and the upgrading and maintenance of existing stores. We continue to build our infrastructure to support the business and our Brands with the addition of 5 new pie production and 3 warehouse facilities.
All these activities contribute to our performance and enhance stakeholder experience for franchisees, employees, partners and shareholders alike.
We have been able to effectively manage our setup costs, despite the devaluation of the Naira and the harsh economic conditions. Among others, bulk purchase of key assets has allowed us to negotiate lucrative discounts, which has contributed to greater returns on investments.
We have and will continue to grow the capacity of both people and other resources within this division to ensure a solid, pre-emptive, responsive and effective strategic implementation plan that delivers ROI.
Our strategic focus areas moving forward include:
The Supply Chain Division (SCD) continues to grow and support the business by catering for the increased demand and delivery of great tasting, high quality products to our stores “On Time in Full”. Key activities that fall under SCD include:
Procurement
The Procurement function is centralised and is responsible for the sourcing and purchasing of all food and packaging products, equipment and other restaurant supplies. The mission of the unit is to provide the “lowest possible sustainable store-delivered prices” for restaurant products and equipment. To achieve this, the unit leverages on the system’s scale to drive cost savings and effectiveness in its day-to-day function.
We work closely with suppliers to encourage innovation, assure best practices and drive continuous improvement. Leveraging scale, supply chain infrastructure and risk management strategies, the division also collaborates with suppliers towards achieving competitive, predictable food and packaging costs over the long term.
Warehousing and Distribution Unit
The business operates a hub and spoke network model across the country. This reduces transportation costs, improves cycle times and reduces inventory in the restaurants and at the warehouses. Delivery of stock items to the stores are carried out through the deployment of Company-owned fleet and third-party Logistics Service Providers to ensure timely and effective distribution to the stores.
Pie Production Unit
Food Concepts operates 10 strategically positioned pie production facilities around the country. These facilities are set up to satisfy our customers’ needs for fresh and tasty baked products via our Chicken Republic and PieXpress stores, as well as to meet the increasing demand for bulk catering requests.
Central Kitchen
Our Central Kitchen operation in Lagos creates our authentic West African spice blends for all our Chicken Republic stores and Pie Production facilities. Our spices are procured and manufactured locally, and this facility produces all the requirements for our Chicken Republic and PieXpress Brands in Nigeria and Ghana. The Central Kitchen brings to the fore several benefits such as:
Our Central Kitchen supports all Chicken Republic and PieXpress stores, both company-owned and franchised. We produce semi-finished and finished items and deliver fresh vegetables to Lagos stores.
The Shared Services Division serves as the bedrock of the organisation as it focuses on the consolidated performance and position of the organisation, its subsidiaries, its associated companies and related entities.
The division provides the requisite support to the business and the other divisions to achieve the overall objective of maximising profitability through sales growth and reduced cost. The division is responsible for driving the overall company strategy summarised in the budgets, forecast and business plans and ensures the monitoring and achievement of the company’s overall strategy.
The Shared Services Division is responsible for raising capital to support the business strategy and growth plans, as well as to ensure the effective management of working capital, which enables smooth operation of the business.
It is also responsible for generating investment income through effective treasury operations and managing of the company’s information technology. The division ensures that proper risk management procedures are in place within the organisation to identify and manage the risks in the business and that policies, controls and procedures are in place to ensure that the organisation’s overall objectives are met.
Shared Services is also responsible for new product development, as well as quality assurance (including both ISO and legal compliance), whilst ensuring that the company’s products are effectively communicated through marketing activities to third parties.
The division comprises the following departments:
The Finance department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The FP&A department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The Risk & Compliance department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The Quality & HSE department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The Admin department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The Legal department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The IT department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The Marketing department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
The Internal Audit department is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve the organisation’s operations. The head of this department reports directly to the Audit Committee of the Board to maintain its independence. The internal audit department is responsible for the following key activities within the organisation:
As a world class company, we ensure preparation and sales of safe ready to eat food with customer satisfaction as a priority. We also ensure our staff, contractors and other relevant parties are safe while carrying out their jobs and measures are put in place to eliminate or reduce the negative impacts of our activities on the environment. We also prioritize environmental sustainability.
In bid to sufficiently meet and sustain National and International standards, in 2019 Food Concepts PLC got her first ISO certification in Food Safety Management System (ISO 22000:2018) with coverage at the Head Office in Ilupeju, Lagos with our supply chain division and support services inclusive and one of our Chicken Republic stores at Ilupeju, Lagos.
In 2020 our Food Safety Management System (ISO 22000:2018) certification was extended to five (5) other stores in Lagos namely Chicken Republic Gbagada, Opebi, Idimu, Awolowo 1 and Freedom Way.
Also, in 2021 three other ISO management systems were added to our ISO Certification cart namely Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2015), Occupational Health and Safety Management System (ISO 45001:2018) and Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015) collectively called Integrated Management System.
In 2022, Food Safety Management System (ISO 22000:2018) certification was further extended to ten (10) more stores with five in Lagos (Chicken Republic Ogunlana Drive, Joel Ogunnaike, Osolo Way, Ahmadu Bello and Agungi) and five in Abuja (Chicken Republic Mpape, Area 8, Aminu Kano, Gwarimpa and Dei Dei).
OUR FOOTPRINT
Mr. Odunayo Olagundoye Educational & Professional Qualification: First degree in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1969) | Masters' degree from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management (1974) Date of Appointment: 9th February 2016 Committee Membership: Chairman | Biography/Experience: A banker by profession, Odunayo was the pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Chartered Bank Plc., and a former Managing Director of National Bank of Nigeria Plc (2000 - 2003). Prior to that, he was the General Manager/Chief Credit Officer of International Merchant Bank Plc (1975 - 1987). He holds a first degree in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("MIT") (1969) and a Masters'™ degree from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management (1974). He is currently the Chairman of Quantum Capital Management. |
Mr. Kofi Abunu Educational & Professional Qualification: Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business and Marketing from the University of London, UK (1997) | CIM, UK (1998) Date of Appointment: 7th March 2022 Committee Membership: Managing Director | Biography/Experience: Kofi has over 28 years international experience in management roles in the food and hospitality industry having previously worked with global brands such as McDonald's (UK), Nando’s, Steers (Ghana), and Innscor West Africa Limited (operators of multi-brand food court). He was head of Operations with their partnership with Exxon Mobil managing the ‘On the Run brand’. Kofi started with Food Concepts in 2007 as a GM for the Chicken Republic Brand. Over the years, he has operated in several African countries including Nigeria, South Africa & Ghana. His most recent appointment was from Divisional Managing Director - Business Development to Managing Director/CEO Food Concepts Plc which took effect from 7 March 2022. |
Dr. Anthonia Agbonifo Educational & Professional Qualification: Graduate of accounting from Yaba College of Technology |MBA with merit from the University of Liverpool UK | Doctorate from European American University | Fellow of ICA | Fellow of IMC | Chartered member of ICAN (2004) | Member of NIM | Diploma in IFRS from ACCA Date of Appointment: 28th March 2019 Committee Membership: Executive Director | Biography/Experience: Anthonia is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience in auditing, accounting, treasury, risk management, IFRS, finance, Sarbanes Oxley review, processes, and advisory services across numerous industries. Anthonia is an Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ("ICAN") prize winner and has attended numerous local and international training courses on leadership, management, taxation, auditing (IFRS, Nigerian & US GAAP), team management, Sarbanes Oxley, controls and is also a skilled facilitator. Anthonia has served on two key committees of the board of ICAN i.e. PPMC for five years and MAC for one year. Anthonia worked with Akintola Williams Deloitte and PriceWaterhouse Coopers in senior management functions. Anthonia joined Food Concepts Plc as the Group Chief Financial Officer in 2014 and is also the Divisional Managing Director of the International Finance and Shared Services Division. |
Dr. Ikenna Okongwu Educational & Professional Qualification: Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Jos (1991) | Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources from the Thames Valley University, UK (2001) | Master’s in Management (MiM) from the Smurfit Business School in the University College Dublin Ireland (2011) Date of Appointment: 7th March 2022 Committee Membership: Executive Director | Biography/Experience: Ikenna is currently the Divisional Managing Director – Operations of Food Concepts Plc. He graduated as a Medical Doctor and has more than 25 years’ experience in the QSR industry, 18 of those in the United Kingdom and The Republic of Ireland. He worked as an Area Coach and Human Resources Manager in the United Kingdom with Yum Restaurants International (KFC) and as the Head of Operations in the Republic of Ireland with MBCC Foods Ltd (KFC Franchisee). In addition, Ikenna worked with KFC Nigeria as the Operations Leader prior to working with Food Concepts Plc. He was instrumental and led the growth of MBCC Foods in Ireland, and the turnaround and growth of the Food Concepts business in Nigeria. |
Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun Educational & Professional Qualification: Bachelors' degree in Business Economics from Glasgow, UK (2000) | Business Information Strategy Master's degree (dist.) from University of Strathclyde (2002) | MBA in Finance from University of Chicago Booth School of Business (2013). Chartered Insurer (ACII) Date of Appointment: 7th December 2016 Committee Membership:(i) Finance & General Purpose Committee. | (ii) Remuneration & Corporate Governance Committee | Biography/Experience: Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun is the Managing Director & CEO at AIICO Insurance Plc; a leading financial services group in Nigeria. Mr. Fajemirokun joined AIICO Insurance Plc, Life Insurance Division, as CIO in May 2009, and was responsible for value-enhancing projects in its maiden growth strategy, business process, and technology transformation projects. Prior to AIICO, he worked with Accenture, Lagos (2003-2007) and then Capgemini Consulting, UK (2008- 2009). In both roles, Babatunde provided consulting/advisory services to financial services and Government clients predominantly in mergers and acquisitions and then United Kingdom government transformation programmes. His experience spans across Management Consulting focused on strategy & technology-led change in Financial Institutions and Government; Insurance & Asset Management focused on strategy, retail and corporate insurance, insurance (actuarial) & investment risk management, process/ technology-led change, turnarounds, corporate finance, and corporate management. |
Mr. Babacar Ka Educational & Professional Qualification: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance from the University of California (2003) | MBA from the University of Oxford (2010) Date of Appointment: 26th September 2017 Committee Membership: (i) Audit Committee | (ii) Remuneration & Corporate Governance Committee | Biography/Experience: Babacar is an investment principal at Development Partners International LLP with 19 years of finance and investment experience spanning private equity, debt investing and equity research. Prior to DPI, Babacar worked at Standard Bank Group in the UK and was an investment analyst in the Global Transaction Team at the IFC in Washington DC. |
Mr. Marc Stoneham Educational & Professional Qualification: BA (Hons) in Modern History from the University of Oxford (1st class) (2003) |MBA from INSEAD (Dean's List) (2010) Date of Appointment: 26th September 2017 Committee Membership: (i) Finance & General Purpose Committee | Remuneration & Corporate Governance Committee | Biography/Experience: Marc worked at McKinsey & Company serving African and other emerging market clients across multiple industries and functions, with a focus on natural resources. Prior to McKinsey, Marc worked in private equity at Actis and Kingdom Zephyr, and for Accenture strategy consulting. |
Mr. Adefolarin Ogunsanya Educational & Professional Qualification: BSc (Hons) in Computer Engineering from NJIT (2007) | MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (2014) Date of Appointment: 26th September 2017 Committee Membership: (i) Finance & General Purpose Committee | (ii) Audit Committee | (iii) Remuneration & Corporate Governance Committee | Biography/Experience: Adefolarin is an investment professional at Development Partners International LLP with over 13 years of experience in investment banking and private equity. Prior to DPI, Folarin was an investment professional at Helios Investment Partners and an investment banker at Credit Suisse in New York. He has experience in Corporate Finance, capital allocation and Strategy. |
Mrs. Yemisi Akinbo Educational & Professional Qualification: BSc degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos (1999) | MBA from the London Business School (2015) | Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria Date of Appointment: 29th September 2021 Committee Membership: (i) Finance & General Purpose Committee | (ii) Audit Committee | Yemisi is a seasoned finance and investment professional with over 20 years’ experience in banking, asset management and private equity. She is currently a Principal at African Capital Alliance (ACA) where she is responsible for overseeing investments in the consumer goods sector. At ACA, she was previously the Head of the Investor Management and Fund Administration function. Prior to joining ACA, Yemisi worked with the First City Group, a leading financial services group in Nigeria. Yemisi has a BSc. degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos (1999) and an MBA from the London Business School (2015). She is also an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. |
Mr. Benjamin Dabrah Educational & Professional Qualification: BSc degree in Land Economy from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana (1999) | BSc degree in Financial Services from the University of Manchester, UK (2006) | MSc in Public Policy Economics from the University of Hull, UK (2001) Date of Appointment: 29th September 2021 Committee Membership: (i) Remuneration & Corporate Governance Committee |
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