Tahua Group and Popeyes give Restaurant Brands some crispy competition

Popeyes opened its doors to customers in Takanini, Auckland, in April last year. (Image: Michael Craig)

Fri, 31 Jan 2025

The New Zealand operators of fried chicken chain Popeyes appear to be chasing Restaurant Brands’ historically high KFC margins, analysts say. Popeyes opened its doors to customers in Takanini, Auckland, in April last year and now has stores in Wellington, Hastings and Taupō. Senior analyst at Salt Funds Management, Neal Burghardt, said it’s fair to assume Popeyes has looked at Restaurant Brands’ margins and seen there is money to be made selling fried chicken in NZ. “Popeyes saw this as a logical next step...

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