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Posted:09-March-2023

CHOPSTIX GROUP CONSOLIDATES POSITION AS UK'S LARGEST ASIAN QSR WITH AQUISITION OF CHOZEN NOODLE

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Chopstix Group, which owns the UK’s largest Asian quick service restaurant brand, Chopstix Noodle Bar, has announced the acquisition of competitor, Chozen Noodle for an undisclosed fee.

Chopstix Group is acquiring all of Chozen’s 27 sites in Motorway Service Areas, which are principally managed through franchise agreements with Roadchef and Moto, with two additional company-owned sites at Extra MSAs. Building on Chopstix Group’s already strong presence in MSAs, the acquisition of these Chozen sites takes the group’s presence at MSAs to 53 sites and is an important step in consolidating its position as the largest Asian QSR operator in the UK.

Jon Lake, Managing Director, Chopstix Group, said: “We already know from the customer feedback and sales data of our existing MSA sites how well our proposition works in this category of site. With more than 6.3 million people visiting Motorway Service Areas every week, this represents an enormous opportunity and an important strategic acquisition for the business.  All sites will continue to trade as Chozen for the foreseeable future and we will work with our franchise partners to determine a longer-term plan for each location.”

Matthew Kirby, founder of Chozen, said: “I’m extremely proud of the business we have grown, and we’re pleased that Chozen will be passing into the safe hands of Jon and the team at Chopstix.”

Established in Camden Market in 2002 by entrepreneurs Sam Elia and Menashe Sadik, the Chopstix Group comprises Chopstix Noodle Bar, the UK’s largest Asian QSR brand, Yangtze and now Chozen. The group’s total number of Asian QSR sites now sits at 127, with 90 venues operating as the Chopstix brand, 27 as Chozen, and 10 as Yangtze. The fast-growing group, which continues to be supported by Metro Bank, opened 26 Chopstix sites last year, comprises locations across the UK and Ireland through a mix of company owned and operated locations and franchise sites, and has long-term ambitions to reach 500 sites.

The Chopstix Group has existing franchise agreements with Motorway Service Area operators including Applegreen and Welcome break. Last year the group launched its first holiday park location in partnership with Haven, and also works with experienced QSR franchisees such as Sparta Foods. This year the brand plans to roll out further franchise sites at Haven as well as opening a restaurant at Butlin’s Bognor Regis’ brand-new food destination, Skyline Eats.

Menashe Sadik and Sam Elia the Co-Founders of Chopstix Group, said: “Ever since we opened our first franchised site with Applegreen, we’ve known that Motorway Service Areas presented a huge growth opportunity for us. With our best-in-class processes, our business is perfectly suited to the franchise model, so we’re excited to be able to work with first rate franchisees like Roadchef and Moto. We’re looking forward to working together to make these new locations even more successful and profitable in the future.”

The acquisition comes as the Chopstix Group continues to deliver strong sales across its portfolio. The CHOPSTIX app, launched in summer 2022, has already received over 150,000 downloads, with app users spending £1 more per transaction than non-users, delivering an 8 per cent increase in average transaction value across the month of December. CHOPSTIX is also available across all three main delivery providers, Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.

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