SINGAPORE — Subway®, one of the world’s largest restaurant brands, and About Passion Co. Ltd., an existing Subway multi-unit franchisee and leading food and beverage (F&B) retailer in Thailand, signed a new Master Franchise Development Agreement to significantly expand Subway’s presence in the region.
About Passion Co. Ltd. is a fast-growing company with proven success in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) and F&B industries. Under the new partnership, About Passion Co. Ltd. will open more than 700 new Subway locations across Thailand over the next decade, expanding on the brand’s current footprint of over 130 restaurants in Bangkok by more than five times.
Under the stewardship of About Passion Co. Ltd., existing and future restaurants will adapt Subway’s new, vibrant “Fresh Forward” design, while also allowing franchisees the flexibility to incorporate elements of the rich Thai culture into their restaurants. To meet the diverse needs of today’s consumers and drive franchisee profitability, About Passion Co. Ltd.’s focus will be to ensure restaurants are in locations with high accessibility and visibility, including drive-throughs and non-traditional restaurant models, such as kiosks and Grab & Go.
“Today’s announcement is a significant step towards growing our Asia Pacific business,” said John Chidsey, Chief Executive Officer of Subway. “We have seen a strong demand for Subway across Thailand and, with About Passion Co. Ltd.’s existing knowledge of our business model and success in implementing operational excellence across their current restaurant locations, we are confident they will be successful in strategically expanding our presence in the country.”
“We have seen enormous success in our Subway restaurants throughout Bangkok and are committed to continuing to build profitable and sustainable growth and inspiring brand love amongst Thai consumers,” said Thanakorn Thanawarith, Founder and Director of About Passion Co. Ltd. “As guests across Thailand increasingly seek better-for-you, convenient and affordable food options, we’re confident Subway will be a welcome and distinct alternative to the QSR brands traditionally offered in the region. We thank Subway for trusting and choosing About Passion Co. Ltd. as part of the brand’s success in Thailand.”
The agreement with About Passion Co. Ltd. is part of Subway’s multi-year transformation journey to build a Better Subway and improve across all aspects of the brand as the business expands its presence around the world. In Asia Pacific, the recent market entry into Indonesia and today’s newly formed partnership in Thailand is just the start. Subway will continue to seek strong partners with expertise in a local market as it aggressively doubles its current network of restaurants in the region to over 6,000 in the next five years.
