Why African Cuisines Haven’t Gone Global

When you think about global food brands, names like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Jollibee, Bonchon, and Chowking come to mind instantly. They’ve managed to take what started as local food concepts and expand into household names worldwide. But when it comes to African cuisines, there’s a noticeable gap. Apart from Nando’s, the South African-born peri-peri chicken chain, there isn’t a single African restaurant brand that has gone truly global.

Why is this the case, and what’s holding African food back from taking its rightful place on the world stage?

The Pricing Problem

One of the biggest barriers is pricing.

Take the Philippines as an example. A plate of African jollof rice and chicken often goes for ₱500–₱600 ($8–$11). That’s just one meal. For the same price, you could grab two complete dosirak rice meals at Bonchon or eat comfortably at Jollibee.

The result? African restaurants position themselves as premium dining experiences rather than everyday go-to spots. This limits their customer base to expats craving a taste of home and a small group of curious foodies. Mass adoption never happens.

Profit-First, Product-Later

Many African restaurateurs operate with a profit-first mentality:

• Imported ingredients drive up costs.
• Recipes remain homestyle rather than standardized.
• Portions are large but not optimized for scalability.
• There’s little emphasis on branding or customer experience.

Instead of building a consistent, affordable product, the focus is often on making high margins per plate. But in the food business, long-term success usually comes from volume over margin. That’s how Jollibee became a global giant—by making food affordable and accessible, not just delicious.

Lessons from Asia and America

Chains like Jollibee, Bonchon, and McDonald’s mastered three key things:

1. Standardization – Every meal tastes the same, whether in Manila, Los Angeles, or Dubai.
2. Cultural Packaging – They made their local flavors approachable for global markets. Bonchon, for instance, turned Korean fried chicken into a global craze.
3. Scalable Pricing – They kept prices low enough for the masses, making dining there a habit, not a luxury.

African cuisine, in contrast, is often treated as special, cultural food—something you eat on weekends, holidays, or at weddings. This exclusivity has kept it niche.

What It Would Take for African Cuisine to Go Global

For African food to thrive globally, one brand needs to crack the code:

• Standardize recipes so every plate of jollof, suya, or egusi soup tastes familiar anywhere in the world.
• Source locally in each country to keep costs low.
• Repackage meals into fast-casual formats (think jollof bowls, suya wraps, peri-peri wings).
• Price for the masses, not just for expats.

Imagine a fast-casual chain offering jollof bowls with grilled chicken at $5, suya skewers as a snack item, and African-inspired drinks. That could be the “Jollibee of Africa.”

The Opportunity Ahead

African food is flavorful, diverse, and unique—it already has everything it takes to capture global taste buds. The only missing ingredient is a business model built for scale.

The question is: Who will be bold enough to build the first African global food chain?

Until then, African cuisines will remain celebrated but underrepresented on the world stage—while chains like Jollibee and Bonchon continue to show us how it’s done.

✨ What do you think? Is pricing the main reason African cuisines haven’t thrived globally, or is it more about branding and mindset?