- Chicken Treat
-
Chicken Treat Type Fast Food Industry Restaurants Founded 1974 Headquarters Western Australia Key people Frank Romano Products Barbecue chicken Revenue A$50 million[1] Website chickentreat.com.au Chicken Treat is an Australian barbecue chicken fast food restaurant chain that originated in 1974 in Perth, Western Australia and later expanded throughout Australia.[1]
According to their official website, in 1989, Chicken Treat and its main rival east coast, Big Rooster, became allies as Australian Fast Foods Pty Limited.[1] In early 2002, the parent company Australian Fast Foods purchased Red Rooster from Coles Myer.[2] This was followed by a period of rebranding, changing existing stores outside of Western Australia from Chicken Treat to the more established Red Rooster brand, although there are a few areas where Red Rooster and Chicken Treat co-exist.
In April 2007, Red Rooster and Chicken Treat were sold by Australian Fast Foods for AU$180 million to a consortium formed by the management and the venture capital arm of Westpac known as Quadrant Capital[3]
In June 2011, Archer Capital acquired Quick Service Restaurant Holdings (QSR) from Quadrant Private Equity for an estimated $450 million (including Red Rooster and Oporto). [4][5]
Contents
Stores
Chicken Treat has over 60 stores within Western Australia.[1] The company operates via its stores' small-scale catering services. In some metropolitan areas there are meals on wheels deals.
Menu
The menu of the store has maintained relatively constant since the beginning of its operations, with the core product being a 1/4 or 1/2 a chicken with a serving of chips. Variants include pineapple fritters; another labeled as a "Chicken Dinner" includes a serving peas and gravy with the option of replacing the chips with roasted potatoes. Whole BBQ chickens may also be bought. Other main course products include: Chicken Rolls, a range of burgers including the Fillet Deluxe Burger the Hot n' Spicy Boom Burger and Chicken Cheeseburger, as well as wraps which come in either Fillet Deluxe or Hot n' Spicy Boom. Kids Packs come with a choice of either four nuggets, a Chicken Cheeseburger or an 1/8 of a chicken.
A new addition to the menu is the range of paninis, which are available in a variety, such as the BST, Napolitana, Continental and Hawaiian. All paninis are supposed to contain only breast meat, however most stores rarely adhere to this rule.[citation needed] Currently metropolitan stores are offering BST paninis. Side items includes nuggets, in packs of 6 or 12, Twists, which usually come in a pack of 13, garlic bread, corn on the cob, Prawn Cocktails, roast potatoes and peas and gravy. On 29 July, Continental and Hawaiian paninis were to be removed from the menu as well as the Bacon Burger.[citation needed] Other discontinued or promotional products include chicken hotdogs, footlong chicken rolls, nachos, wedges, a line of chicken salad rolls, cheesy nuggets, and Monster Wraps.
Chicken Treat also offers coleslaw and potato salad(not in some franchise stores), as well as chocolate mousse, cheesecake and a range of drinks from the Coca-Cola range, as well as Masters milk in chocolate and iced coffee varieties.
Each month brings a range of specials, ranging from whole meals at an inexpensive price, including buy-one, get-one-free vouchers.
Because of the popularity of the Stackas, they were brought back upon the deletion of the 'Real Bacon Burger', however upon their return the sauces were removed and replaced with mayonnaise making them extremely unpopular and the company are now having trouble getting rid of their stocks before again discontinuing the item, and Paninis (Chicken Treat still sells BST Paninis).
As of June 2008, Chicken Treat has been testing out selling V energy drinks in green and berry as well as Coca-Cola's old Mother energy drink.
The Hawaiian Packs no longer refer to one banana fritter and one pineapple fritter, but rather 2 pineapple fritters, instead of the name 'Pineapple Pack'. Chicken Treat no longer sells banana fritters.
Chicken Treat kids packs now come with a 'Kids Dinner' option alongside the Cheeseburger & Chips, Nuggets & Chips or 1/8 Chicken & Chips. A Kids Dinner consists of 1/8 Chicken, Peas and Mash & Gravy. Normal Chicken dinners "Mum's Chicken Dinner" now come with two potatoes, carrots, peas and gravy rather than three potatoes, peas and gravy.
It is important to note that unlike Red Rooster, Chicken Treat does not roast their carrots or potatoes. Carrots are microwaved and potatoes are fried. Chicken Treat claim that their potatoes are roasted however, which is why most customers continue to purchase potatoes in the Mum's Chicken Dinners rather than purchasing chips.
Chicken treat now sells fried chicken known as "Westcoast Fried" which is similar to the texture of KFC but with different flavours. Due to the recent acquisition of Chooks by QSRH, the original seasoning used by Chooks was also rebranded as a "Country Style" version of the Westcoast Fried line.
Logo and mascot
In the late 1990s, the company began to use a CGI rooster as its official mascot, named Chicken Nick. It is now the focus of commercials and used as toys in children themed meals. The mascot is normally involved in a comical skit from surfing to Hula dancing, which is often a reference to the product being advertised at that time. During the first season of the reality TV series Big Brother, adverts replicated the 'bum dance' of Perth contestant Sara-Marie Fedele.
Local celebrities such as former Perth Wildcats star Ricky Grace have also been used in commercials and in more recent advertisements, a contestant from Australian Idol, Chris Murphy, provided a song.
In late 2009 Chicken Treat updated their logo and branding to appeal to a younger audience which has been updated on some stores. In Early 2011 QSR Holdings acquired the Western Australian Chooks brand (Formerly known as River Rooster), converting said stores into Direct-Service outlets with no Drive-Thru service. These stores all carry the newer Chicken Treat branding.
Slogans
- The chicken lover's chicken
- The taste that's close to home
- I've got the taste!
- We do chicken right!
- We treat our chicken right.
- Its just too tender to be called a chook.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d About Us - The Chicken Treat Story at their official website
- ^ ACCC (30 April 2002). "Australian Fast Foods acquisition of Amalgamated Food & Poultry Pty Ltd". http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/476499. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
- ^ AAP (17 April 2007). "Australian Fast Foods signs buyout deal". http://news.ninemsn.com.au/business/261380/australian-fast-foods-signs-buyout-deal. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
- ^ Wen, PHilip (14 June 2011). "Archer buys Red Rooster and Oporto in $450m deal". Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/business/archer-buys-red-rooster-and-oporto-in-450m-deal-20110613-1g0p3.html. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ Ooi, Teresa (14 June 2011). "Archer buys up $450m worth of quick chicken". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/industry-sectors/archer-buys-up-450m-worth-of-quick-chicken/story-e6frg9h6-1226074537350. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
External links
Categories:- Food companies of Australia
- Fast-food chains of Australia
- Fast-food poultry restaurants
- Barbecue restaurants
- Restaurants in Australia
- Companies based in Perth
- Companies established in 1974
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
