Chickita is the very first Asian inspired flame-grilled chicken restaurant concept. Chickita has now formalised its colourful concept into a go-to-market franchise business.
Chickita’s vision is a simple one, to become the number one flame-grilled chicken concept globally with a mission of sourcing the best quality cage-free chicken from local farmers with a farm to table approach.
Chickita Flame-Grilled Chicken concept, established in 2019, is a fast-casual dining experience using the flame-grilled method of cooking, providing the best local fresh ingredients. The menu, including the six signature sauces, is Asian inspired. Chickita is a colourful and vibrant lifestyle destination with food that is simple, fresh & healthy. There are currently five stores in Vietnam, with a planned expansion of 10 more stores in Vietnam within a year.
The concept includes six signature sauces with familiar spices from kitchens across Asia, making each bottle a flavourful fulfilment. The Chickita sauces with their distinctive Asian identities will also hit retailers later this year, ensuring that you always have a taste of Chickita in your home.
AHM Lifestyles-Creative Hospitality, which houses Chickita and other well-known concepts, is led by food and beverage industry pioneer, Asif Mehrudeen. Asif is also the creator of four of the city’s most highly rated and well-loved concepts, opening 17 restaurants in Southeast Asia. His passion and experience as a culinary chef in Southeast Asia for over 20 years have led him to create the world-class Asian inspired concept, CHICKITA.
“I strongly believe that a successful concept is the one that carries the heart, passion and soul in all its food and services”, said Asif.
C.P. Group, a Thai agriculture conglomerate, is a great strategic partner of Chickita. The conglomerate has a presence in over 22 countries, playing an integral part in global expansions.
BusinessToday met up exclusively with Chickita Founder Asif Mehrudeen and entrepreneur Charles Chan, Director, Chickita Malaysia to dig deeper on hatching the growth of the chain.
“One of our business partners came across Chickita in Ho Chi Minh City during his business trip and found the Flame Grilled Chicken there so flavourful and tender with unique Asian-inspired accompanying sauces which are not available back home in Malaysia. He then immediately shared his exciting dining experience with me, said Chan.
Since Malaysians simply love ‘ayam bakar’ and the name Chickita also coincidentally sounds very ‘Malaysian’ we thought that it would be a great idea to bring Chickita to the F&B scene in Malaysia. So we gathered some very close friends, put the idea to the table and here we are now, with the first outlet, he added.
Asif joined saying Chickita always wanted to expand within the region and Malaysia was always on our radar as a country we must enter, especially the love for chicken, a protein commonly eaten daily.
Our core signature sauces were carefully created using the best Southeast Asian ingredients in a bottle, and we instantly knew that Malaysians would enjoy the exciting flavours created in a flame-grilled dining experience, to bring people together. The sauces that we feel cater to the local tastebuds include the original lemongrass-infused blend, Tamarita’s hot tamarind twist, and the well-loved Sexy sauce with roasted red chillies.
On their vision, Chan said Simple Bites started as a ready-to-eat food manufacturer with products spreading across CU Mart, MyNews, Aeon and other local convenience stores. Hence, it is perfect that we incorporate a restaurant business into our business plan with support from the manufacturing end as a central kitchen. We are proud to say that we are the first Asian-inspired flame-grilled chicken restaurant in Malaysia, and having a huge market for flame-grilled chicken with limited competitors, we aim to be the best.
Asif added; “Our vision is to be present in every neighbourhood around Malaysia and to become a familiar destination when everyone thinks “Ayam Panggang” = CHICKITA, becomes the top-of-mind place to dine. Apart from the flame-grilled chicken and sauces, the menu has many other exciting options to complement the meal especially one that does not stop at savoury delights, we introduced a Malaysian timeless favourite, the ice cream potong with flavours like A Classic Twist, Butterfly Frozen Pea Smoothie, and Vanilla Dreams.”
He said, during our creation of CHICKITA, we found an opportunity to bring the best of Asian flavours to complement a flame-grilled chicken experience. At the end of the day, we find our recipes to complement the menu development to bring our customers back regularly with unique flavours. CHICKITA presents a nostalgic yet comforting presence where the name itself shares great value and meaning within the Malaysian community where our brand means – “Let’s eat Chicken together” Chick = chicken, Kita = Us/We.
Chickita currently has 5 stores in Vietnam, and proud to share our first International opening earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Upcoming restaurants include Melbourne, Australia in July this year, and towards the end of November, we are opening our first flagship store in Singapore. We also have plans to set foot in Thailand by 2025. Asian-inspired flavours are a fast-growing demand from diners who enjoy these exciting intense flavours, Asif added.
Chan said they are currently operating under a licensed agreement instead of a franchise; hence competition is at a minimum.
“Chicken is an easy-going product which appeals to almost everyone, especially families as everyone can adapt to this healthier protein option. CHICKITA’S menu has a good variety of unique options localised for each destination and its creative menu options allow customers to have a broad dining experience when they eat at our outlets. Apart from our Asian-inspired flavoursome sauces, we are proud to share that we have many other signature unique dishes available which sets us different from our competitors, Asif said.
Moving forward, “For Malaysia, this is our first outlet, and our next mission is to bring another 3 more Chickita outlets to the Klang Valley within 3 years. So do stay tuned,” said Chan.
“Our focus is to work closely with our partners in Malaysia to grow CHICKITA as an exciting familiar brand everywhere within communities to provide high-quality food prepared with love, service from the heart and exciting Asian-inspired flavours. We are committed to ensuring that the development of our recipes continues to evolve in this fast-paced F&B industry in Malaysia.
“Consumers are always looking for new creativity and innovations marketed through fun, appealing marketing campaigns and offerings. We will focus on building CHICKITA’s loyalty program where every Malaysian feels part of our story, added Asif.
