TL;DR
Quick-service restaurants may be among the first American businesses to enter Cuba following normalized relations between the two countries. Many brands are considering their options in Cuba's fertile market.
Is the former home of Fidel Castro the next hotspot for franchising? That’s the question posed by QSR. The new source recently reported that quick-service restaurants could be among the first American businesses to flood the country now that relations have become normalized between Cuba and the United States.
“In Cuba, the people are [excited] for quick-service brands,” Dr. Jose Oro, head of research for Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, told QSR. “In a way, that will be considered a portent of changes in the entire society, a step toward the future.”
As the news source was told by a Havana tour guide, many Cubans have only ever seen American-style hamburgers in pictures. If quick-service restaurants started washing up on Cuba’s shores, it would be a major change, to say the least.
However, there’s no doubt many brands are considering their options when it comes to the country’s fertile yet virgin market.
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on June 8, 2015. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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