News

French-based QSR to expand halal-only chain

August 31, 2010

A French quick-service chain, Quick, announced it will almost triple its line of halal hamburger restaurants because sales have doubled.

This news comes after a heated debate over the chain’s six-month trial concept earlier this year.

According to Reuters, Quick will add 22 new halal-only stores around France after the trial in eight high Muslim areas saw a doubling of customers and an increase in sales.

France has the largest European Islamic minority with 5 million Muslims living in the country. Many French Muslims eat halal and fast at Ramadan.

Quick, a competitor of McDonald's, has franchises in seven other countries including Belgium, Russia and Algeria, said the move was solely commercial.

The expansion plans have not come without controversy. The mayor of a town with a halal Quick threatened a lawsuit for discrimination against non-Muslims. A far-right leader accused the company of imposing an "Islamic tax" on customers because part of the meat price goes to Muslim clerics who certify it was slaughtered according to Islamic law.

A survey earlier this year estimated the French halal market was a $6.95 billion annually industry with growth expected at 20 percent a year.

McDonald's in France does not offer halal meat but another U.S. quick-service food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken, does.