Baltic, Estonia, Foodstuff, Good for Business, Investments, Markets and Companies

On Friday, an opening ceremony was held at the KFC restaurant opened in the Ulemiste shopping center in October and the event was also attended by the chief executive of Yum! Brands, KFC's Central and Eastern Europe representative, as well as the representatives of Apollo Group, partner of KFC's Baltic franchise.

Since its opening in October, the KFC restaurant in the Ulemiste shopping center has been visited by over 50,000 people already. Over 20 more KFC restaurants are to be opened in the Baltics in the next three years and the new branches are to give jobs to over 800 people.

According to the company, the KFC trademark is developing very fast in Central and Eastern Europe and an ever increasing role is seen for it in the Baltics, too. Oleg Pisklov, chief executive of KFC for Central and Eastern Europe, said that Estonia stands out for its good economic growth, technological development and supportive business environment, which makes it attractive to international companies.

"Estonia is a very important market for KFC and we have big growth plans here. But growth is not the only thing we are focusing on -- first and foremost, it is important for us to provide quality meals with legendary taste and to develop the KFC employee program," Pisklov said.

Jaanus Vihand, CEO of Apollo Group, said that KFC has been received very well and the meals on offer meet the expectations and tastes of the people of Estonia.

KFC's chicken is from Lithuania, but the company is not ruling out the use of local raw material and cooperation with local producers in the future.

One of the principles of the fast food chain is to also contribute to local communities by developing programs and charity projects aimed at helping people with low incomes. KFC is also planning to launch such initiatives in Estonia.

KFC will also be added to the consumer loyalty program of Apollo Group, which, similarly to Apollo cinemas, bookstores, Blender juice bars, O'Learys entertainment centers and other companies of the group, will offer special offers and discounts at KFC as well.