US’s Pizza Hut to Debut in Cambodia this month
US’s Pizza Hut to Debut in Cambodia this month
American-base fast-food chain Pizza Hut is set to debut in Cambodia this month to bring a new experience of a world-class pizza brand to Cambodia where modern eating habits are growing among the young population.
Originally owned by US-restaurant firm Yum Brands Inc., Pizza Hut is brought into Cambodia by a local-food chain corporation United Food Group (UFG), the owner of Park Café, one of leading restaurants in Cambodia.
The first store of Pizza Hut will be opened at an expat area and business hub near Russian market in mid-August and two other stores will be opened within the third quarter this year, said Heng Sengly, UFG’s Group Chief Operating Officer, citing that 30 stores will be opened within two to three years.
“The number of Cambodian young people involved with income generating activities is increasing rapidly and they prefer brand products to enhance their modern lifestyle,” Sengly said on Thursday.
“The Pizza Hut will be the pizza brand of choice among youth and we aim to promote modern pizza eating culture to Cambodia by offering world-class pizza brands to consumers at a similar price with existing brands,” he said.
According to Sengly, Pizza Hut will be able to seek a bigger slice of pizza market share in Cambodia, targeting to take three years to enlarge the number of stores to the same amount that the existing players have spent for 15 years.
“It is a new trend that many Cambodia young people lead busier work lives and have more money to spend on leisure and high-class food. This means that eating at home and cooking their own meals has become less commonplace that is why we want to make eating habits easier for Cambodia young generation,” he said.
The Pizza Hut will join the long standing competitors – Thai-based The Pizza Company, US-based Domino’s Pizza, US-based Papa John’s Pizza, Philippines-based Yellow Cab Pizza, and Pezzo Pizza of Singapore.
Unnat Varma, Pizza Hut Asia Pacific Managing Director, said that Pizza Hut is proud of being brought to Cambodia, a land of rich culture and heritage.
“The new Pizza Hut will feature the most modern and delicious pizza experience across all channels including dine-in, delivery, take-out and even digital, to give aspiring Cambodians the easiest way to experience the best tasting pizza in the world,” Unnat Varma said in a press release issued on August 5.
Related to the market competition, Khmer Times could not reach pizza companies in Cambodia for comments on Thursday.
Even though Pizza is Western food, eating it in Cambodia is very common especially among young people.
According to a projection by UFG, Pizza market in Cambodia generates at least $100 million revenue in 2019. The market is estimated to grow 15 to 20 percent annually as Cambodia’s consuming class increases annually parallel to economic growth and more inflow of foreign direct investment. Khmer Times
