Slow Food, Served Fast

Big Fig is the wild success that’s taking Middle Eastern-inspired flavours throughout New Zealand

Say the word ‘franchise’ to a lot of people and they’ll think of fast food. But what Big Fig offers is something rather different.

‘We’re all about slow food, served fast, bringing food cooked with love and great ingredients to the fast food world,’ says co-owner Chrissie Lahood. ‘It’s been a huge hit with locals and visitors – now it’s time to take this delicious concept to the rest of New Zealand.’

Big Fig was created in 2016, when Chrissie left a senior creative position with a leading multi-national advertising agency and her sister Shaz a role in corporate accounting to take over a small café on the Wanaka lakefront. They were soon joined by a third sister, Karen, whose background is in event management, and by Ashleigh Miller, who brought hospitality expertise to the table.

‘Our premises had a tiny kitchen, which was quite restrictive but it inspired us to think of home cooking and our Lebanese roots,’ explains Chrissie. ‘We decided to make slow food, concentrating on fresh, seasonal, local ingredients and using time to turn them into wonderful dishes.’

‘But at the same time, we wanted to provide the sort of fast service that meets the demand for takeaway as well as eat-in, so that’s what we created. Our hot and cold display cabinets are filled with delicious slowcooked meats, tagines, braises, pilafs, salads and more, all ready-to-go. Customers simply choose a plate size and tell us how they’d like their plate filled. Job done and yum!’

Shared, sustainable & delicious

‘The Big Fig name was inspired by a large fig tree in our backyard when we were growing up in Taranaki,’ explains Chrissie. ‘We encourage our up to 40 dine-in customers to feel like they are part of a big family sharing a meal.

Big Fig founders Shaz and Chrissie Lahood

‘From 8am until 8.30pm seven days a week, we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, barista coffee, local beers and wines, kombucha on tap and delicious fresh baking and desserts made in-house. We offer both plant-based and meat dishes, including such delights as hippy salad with tahini turmeric dressing, harissa butterbean stew, Moroccan pumpkin tagine and beef cheeks in pomegranate and red pepper paste.

‘More and more customers are choosing our delicious veggie options, which fits right into our sustainability goals. In 2019, we stopped using single-use cups, encouraging customers to bring their own, drink-in or buy a fully refundable Again Again cup. We don’t have plastics in our takeaways, and our three plate sizes discourage food waste.’

It all adds up to a highly popular concept. ‘Takeaway accounts for around 50 percent of our business, and we also do catering for local events and businesses. The whole model is very successful and is generating very healthy returns.’

Professional business package

With their business backgrounds, it’s not surprising that the sisters are turning to franchising to spread the Big Fig name throughout the country in a highly professional way. Creating the franchise package and fine-tuning the business model and support systems was a two-year project, carried out in conjunction with Franchize Consultants, the country’s most-awarded franchise specialists.

Karen says, ‘A strong motivation came from customers visiting Wanaka and saying, “That food was totally amazing – you should open a Big Fig in my town!” Now we’re ready to invite franchisees to bring this unique, delicious eating experience to your town or suburb. Being new, we have opportunities available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, as well as smaller centres.

‘We’re looking for people with at least three years’ business ownership experience, or three years’ hospitality experience, or three years’ management experience at a senior level. You must be able to demonstrate that you share our passion and values of slow food, served fast, follow systems and procedures, be hands-on – at least initially – and also be committed to sustainability.’

New, fresh, delicious

‘We like to think we’re the country’s newest, freshest and most delicious franchise,’ says Karen. ‘To get in on the ground floor, total investment levels vary depending on location and size from around $150,000 to $400,000.

New franchisees will benefit from the combined experience of the four franchisors, with business support, training and other expertly-created systems and procedures. Big Fig has been accepted as a member of the Franchise Association of New Zealand.

Chrissie ends, ‘If you like what you’ve read, don’t be slow – act fast and give us a call. All the ingredients are in place and we just need the right people to make the most of them. We’d love to hear from you.’

Advertiser Info

Big Fig

www.bigfig.co.nz/franchising

Contact Karen Lahood

M 027 902 6593

franchise@bigfig.co.nz