Honestly Good Chicken Fingers is looking to take a bigger bite out of the global fast-food market with the backing of entrepreneur Aaron Serruya, whose experience building international restaurant brands could help accelerate the chain’s expansion.

“I’ve tried the others in the marketplace, and these guys have a far superior product. That’s the first thing that got me interested in the brand. And then meeting Naomi and Steve, they’re both great food people,” Aaron Serruya, owner at Serruya Private Equity told FoodNX in an interview.

Naomi Kempkes, president, and her husband Stephen Czetyrbok, chief executive officer, founded the firm in 2020 but opened its first location in 2024.

Serruya and his brother Michael were originally behind the successful Yogen Früz franchise, and they now are partnering with the fried chicken restaurant to expand in North America, as well as the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America.

“They’ve been in the industry for many years, so they understood the task and the challenges in the marketplace, and we just we hit it off well, and we’re going to hopefully expand this business both through franchise and master-franchise model throughout the U.S. and the globe,” Serruya said.

Building a global restaurant brand

Today, Honestly Good Chicken Fingers has four locations in the GTA but its partnership with Serruya will hopefully help accelerate its growth.

“For us, we’ve been at it for 40 years, and my brother and I in the fast food industry, we’ve had many brands. We own many brands today. We have some great relationships and partnerships around the world.”

“My goal is to share with our partners globally and domestically what we’re working with now, and if they’re interested also in joining the Honestly Good family,” Serruya said.

The brothers launched their business in 1986 with a single Toronto location. Today they have invested in several other successful brands such as Pinkberry, The Body Shop, St. Louis Bar and Grill and Second Cup Cafe, among others.

Today, Yogen Früz has more than 490 locations in 13 countries. The parent firm, Markham, Ont.-based Serruya Private Equity, operates in more than 50 countries and has more than 3,000 locations.

Taking on the chicken giants

Serruya believes the timing is right to invest in Honestly Good, citing an opportunity to compete in a category dominated by global giant KFC.

“Every category has a few players, and we feel like there’s really no second place yet in that category, and that’s what intrigued us,” he said.

As well, demographics play an important role that Serruya feels will help position Honestly Good for success.  

“Chicken fingers are constantly coming on the radar as far as one of the most preferred items for people under the age of 18, and we think this product is superior to what’s happening in the marketplace, and once the customers have that experience, I think we’ll be able to win them over.”

The commercial real estate market today is “ripe for growth (and) is probably at a better situation than it’s been in a long time. From a retailer’s point of view, it’s always been the landlord market. I think it’s the retailer’s market now at this point,” Serruya said.

Ambitious expansion plans

The firm has established some ambitious goals for Honestly Good. “I’m hoping that we can get over 100 stores over the next 36 months to 48 months. We’re out there pounding.”

“We’ve got a bunch of real estate that we just picked up here in Canada that we’re going to continue growing up here, and then start sharing with our partners down in the U.S. and around the world, so they can see what we’re doing, and I do believe they’ll be excited when they try the product and see the simplicity of the concept,” he said.

The market for chicken-focused restaurants is also promising, according to Serruya.

“So we have a good feel of what’s hot and what’s not, and the chicken category continues to grow. Be it fried chicken or grilled chicken or different forms of the chicken category, we believe that’s a growth opportunity in the marketplace.”

Lessons from a restaurant veteran

For franchisees, it's important not to invest in growth if the initial capital is not lined up, he said.

“To make a go of it in the marketplace is hard enough but when you overfinance and overleverage, I think you cripple yourself and when you overleverage anything, it’s that much harder to survive.”

Its operating model is based on growth, without compromising any quality. “And unlike most private equity companies out there that that we see jumping into food, we are food operators: Serruya Private Equity is more of a family office. So we don’t come in and squeeze the numbers; squeeze the percentages, and just look at it from a financial point. We understand the food industry.”

“Our lifetime of business has been in the food industry.”

And while Yogen Früz continues to lead in its category, according to Serruya, there are some new and interesting ways to market brands that are working well.

“It’s now about the influencers and getting the right people promoting your product. The marketplace has gotten rid of the actors and the sports guys being the promoters of certain new brands. It’s now common people influencing the marketplace with social media,” Serruya said.

“Do we need to listen to a football player to decide what to eat today? No, I want to hear a foodie tell me what he thinks is great right now.”