Healthy fast food chain Oliver’s Real Foods has signed a master franchise agreement which gives EG Fuelco exclusive franchisee rights to the Oliver’s restaurant brand in the petrol and convenience sector.
Under the agreement Oliver’s retains the right to continue expanding its brand through corporate or franchised stores along major highways, in travel hubs, hospitals, universities and shopping centres.
The initial 10 year agreement with EG Fuelco is dependent on the service station chain meeting minimum performance requirements.
Oliver’s will be the exclusive supplier of all the products to be sold in the restaurants, the first of which is set to open in Western Sydney before 2021.
This deal follows on from the successful arrangement with the petrol and convenience retailer to distribute Oliver’s food-to-go product lines. In the five months since the deal was initiated, there are branded concessions in 90 service stations.
Last year the EG Group acquired 540 Woolworth’s petrol stations for $1.72bn.
The UK-based business, founded by the Issa family in 2001, now has about 6,000 sites in 10 countries, serving more than 23 million customers weekly.
Oliver’s founder and chairman Jason Gunn said “I am delighted that a global business of this scale can see so much potential in the Oliver’s brand. EG is one of the world’s leading fuel and convenience retail businesses.”
He said the goal is to follow the blueprint of EG’s UK partnership with retailers such as the bakery chain Greggs to turn the service station into a food retail destination.
“This is a great partnership that expands and strengthens our brand,” he said.
Tammie Phillips, CEO at Oliver’s, said “Working with EG on the Oliver’s food-to-go offering has allowed us to glimpse the potential of this partnership. EG has enormous belief in our concept and is prepared to make a significant investment in growing the Oliver’s brand in the petrol and convenience sector in Australia.
“This partnership will provide Oliver’s with a material expansion opportunity, without the capital requirement we would normally require to execute such a larger scale store rollout.”
Oliver’s Real Foods listed on the ASX in June 2017.
