What Nando's UAE does

Nando's UAE LLC is the master franchisee operating the Nando's brand in the United Arab Emirates, running a casual dining chain built around flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken seasoned with a proprietary African Bird's Eye Chilli-based sauce. The estate comprises 24 full-service restaurants (called 'Casas') plus one dark kitchen spread across four of the seven UAE Emirates, staffed by a workforce of 28 nationalities. The core product is the signature flame-grilled chicken prepared with the proprietary PERi-PERi spice formula, accompanied by sides, salads, and limited-time menu innovations such as the 2024 launches of PERi-Crackle, San Sebastian Cheesecake, Espetada Dukkah Lima, and a new breakfast menu.

The business operates a multi-channel revenue model spanning dine-in, takeaway, and delivery (including through the dedicated dark kitchen), with menu items priced in a AED 10-286 band that targets mass-market through upper-mid-market consumers. Beyond the restaurant estate, Nando's UAE generates a parallel retail revenue stream by distributing branded PERi-PERi sauces through major grocery and e-commerce partners including Carrefour, LuLu, Waitrose, Amazon, and Talabat Mart, extending brand reach into home consumption occasions. The operating model combines standardized brand, menu, and supply-chain IP from the global Nando's system with local execution.

Commercially, the company pairs core menu innovation and channel extension with purpose-led partnerships (Dubai Autism Center, PERi-Farms, Goodbye Malaria) that support brand positioning rather than direct revenue contribution. There is no disclosed evidence of AI/ML deployment, data-driven personalization, or proprietary technology platforms; competitive differentiation rests on the PERi-PERi product formula, brand equity established since the UAE launch in 2002, and the breadth of the dine-in plus retail distribution footprint.

Name

Nando's UAE

Legal name

Nando's UAE LLC

Website

https://nandos.ae

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Nando's UAE LLC operates 24 flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken restaurants and one dark kitchen across four UAE Emirates, serving mass-market through upper-mid-market consumers via dine-in, delivery, and branded retail sauces.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining / Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing (311991), Mayonnaise, Dressing, and Other Prepared Sauce Manufacturing (311941)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Concept / Global QSR Chains (Mixed Menus) (THAFAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Frozen Ethnic & International Meals (CRADADAE), Pesto, Cooking Pastes & Concentrated Flavor Bases Manufacturing (AFAKADAN), Cold Prepared Foods & Meal Components (Sides, Proteins, Family Meals) (CRAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Flame-grilled chicken
• PERi-PERi sauce
• Casual dining restaurants
• Retail sauces
• Online food ordering

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining and Takeaway: Nando's UAE operates 24 Casa restaurants and 1 dark kitchen generating revenue through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery orders. The menu features flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken, burgers, salads, and South African-inspired dishes with pricing ranging from AED 31-286 for main items.
2. Retail Grocery Products: Sale of PERi-PERi sauces and grocery products through leading supermarkets, grocery apps, and online marketplaces. Products include various sauce variants (Lemon and Herb, Mild, Medium, Garlic, Wild Herb, Hot, XHot, XXHot, Creamy Garlic) available at Carrefour, Amazon, LuLu, Waitrose, and Talabat Mart.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Nando's UAE operates a chain of 24 Casa restaurants and 1 dark kitchen across four Emirates serving flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken (with spice levels from Lemon & Herb to XXHot), alongside burgers, pitas, wraps, vegetarian options, salads, platters, kids meals, desserts, and beverages for dine-in, takeaway, and delivery. The company also sells its proprietary PERi-PERi sauces in retail through supermarkets and online grocery platforms, complemented by an online ordering platform (store.nandos.ae) and a recipe content ecosystem to support home consumption.

Product overview

Nando's UAE operates a restaurant chain featuring PERi-PERi flame-grilled chicken as its core offering. The product portfolio encompasses dine-in restaurant meals (including PERi-PERi Chicken, Burgers/Pitas/Wraps, PERi-PERi Veg options, Casa Deals, Sharing Platters, and Nandinos kids meals), retail PERi-PERi sauces sold at supermarkets, an online ordering platform, and a recipe content platform. The restaurants span 24 Casas and one dark kitchen across four Emirates in the UAE, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with beverages including Designer Drinks, Milkshakes, and Soft Drinks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PERi-PERi Chicken (Dine-In, Flame-Grilled) Flame-grilled chicken marinated in PERi-PERi sauce, available in whole chicken, quarter, half, wings, and chicken butterfly cuts with multiple spice levels (Lemon & Herb, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot, XXHot). Offered through dine-in, takeaway, and delivery at 24 Casa locations and 1 dark kitchen across four Emirates.
• Espetada Skewers Flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken thigh skewers including Espetada, Espetada Carnival (stuffed with feta, garlic & parsley), Espetada Lima-Luso (garlic & herb cream cheese filling), and Espetada Dukkah Lima variants, priced from AED 92 to AED 191.
• Burgers, Pitas & Wraps Chicken-based sandwiches and wraps including Nando's Classic Burger (AED 49-59), Chicken Caesar Wrap (AED 51-61), BIG Bwana Burger (AED 69-79), PERi-Bomba Burger, Beef Prego, Nandocas Choice Burger, and vegetarian alternatives.
• PERi-PERi Veg (Vegetarian Menu) Vegetarian options including Veg Pita, Black Mushroom & Halloumi Wrap, Veg Burger, Creamy Cashew Veg with Spicy Rice, and PERi-Veg Cataplana, priced from AED 65-71.
• Casa Deals (Value Meals) Value-oriented meal combinations including Pulled Chicken Burger (AED 42-52), Pulled Chicken Pita/Wrap, Chicken & Pineapple Skewers (AED 48-58), and Grilled Chicken Strips with Spicy Rice (AED 36-46).
• Sharing Platters Platters designed for sharing including Wing Platter (20 wings, AED 143), Full Platter (1 whole chicken with 4 regular sides, AED 147), and Jumbo Platter (2 whole chickens with 5 large sides, AED 286).
• Nandinos (Kids Menu) Children's meals (for under 10s) including Chicken Burger (AED 31), Grilled Chicken Strips (AED 31), and Mini Wraps (AED 31), each served with a Dino side, mixed fruits, and a choice of drink or dessert.
• Breakfast Menu Morning offerings at select locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Al Ain including PERi-Eggs Benedict (AED 55), Eggs & Avo with PERi-Drizzle (AED 45), PERi-Eggs Shakshuka, Casa Breakfast (AED 67), and Breakfast Mesa Platter. Beverages include Espresso (AED 14), Galão/Americano/Cappuccino (AED 19), Fresh Orange Juice (AED 30).
• Sides Restaurant side dishes including PERi-PERi Chips (Regular AED 18, Large AED 26), Wedges, Coleslaw, Sweet Potato Chips, PERi-Spinach, Chunky Mash Potato (Large AED 28), Three Bean Salad, Chargrilled Veg, and Batata Harra.
• Desserts Restaurant desserts including Choc'late Lovin' Spoon Cake (AED 39), Natas & Ice-cream (AED 39), Molten Malva Cake & Ice-cream (AED 49), San Sebastian Cheesecake (AED 39), Chocolate Brownie Lava Cake (AED 49).
• Salads Restaurant salads including Mediterranean Salad (AED 46 solo, AED 62 with chicken), Caesar Salad (AED 49 solo, AED 65 with chicken), Casa Fattoush (AED 52 solo, AED 68 with chicken), and Quinoa Salad (AED 56 solo, AED 72 with chicken).
• Designer Drinks and Beverages Signature beverages including Sunset Pineapple, Blue Passion Blast, Caipirinha, Watermelon Crush, and Mango Lime Splash (AED 30-31); Milkshakes such as Oreo and Strawberries & Cream (AED 31); Soft drinks (AED 18-30); hot drinks (AED 14-19).
• PERi-PERi Sauces (Retail) Bottled PERi-PERi sauces available for retail purchase at Carrefour, LuLu, Waitrose, Amazon, and Talabat Mart, in variants including Lemon and Herb, Mild, Medium, Garlic, Wild Herb, Hot, XHot, XXHot, and Creamy Garlic. Targeted at home cooks seeking to recreate the flame-grilled PERi-PERi flavour in their own kitchens.
• Nando's Online Ordering Platform (store.nandos.ae) Website-based ordering platform enabling customers to place orders for dine-in collection, takeaway, and delivery from any Nando's UAE Casa or dark kitchen location.

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dubai Autism CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership with Dubai Autism Center to support education and therapy programmes for children with autism. Part of Nando's UAE community initiative 'changing lives together' that focuses on making a difference in the communities they serve.
• PERi-Farms InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative that helps educate and uplift farmers across Southern Africa. One of several social impact programmes including Goodbye Malaria and art, design and music initiatives that showcase Southern African artists worldwide.
• Goodbye MalariacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial initiative that protects millions of lives against malaria each year. Part of Nando's purpose-driven approach to 'changing lives together' through various community programmes across Southern Africa.
• Local NGO (Pattern Designer)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal NGO commissioned to design and create three unique patterns for the Nando's new restaurant look, incorporating African, Portuguese, and Nando's design elements featuring triangle, African Bird's Eye Chillies, Nando's heart, and flame motifs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Wingstop UAE: Growing wings-focused QSR in the UAE. Partial overlap with Nando's wing and sharing-platter offering; competes in delivery and casual dining for chicken-wing occasions but narrower menu.
• Just Chicken UAE: UAE-focused chicken specialist operating dark kitchens and delivery-first formats. Competes with Nando's on the chicken category and quick-commerce occasions, particularly relevant given Nando's dark-kitchen expansion.

Direct peers

• McDonald's UAE: Mass-market global QSR with deep UAE penetration across dine-in, delivery and digital. While broader menu than Nando's, it competes for the same lunch, family and delivery occasions at overlapping price points.
• Nando's UK: The UK arm of Nando's, the largest international franchise. Comparable on menu, brand and operating model, useful for benchmarking same-store economics, sauce retail penetration and digital roadmap relevant to UAE strategy.
• Burger King UAE: Global QSR competitor in the UAE with comparable dine-in, takeaway and delivery mechanics. Competes for the same casual dining and value-meal occasions that anchor Nando's Casa Deals and burger menu.
• Texas Chicken (AFC) UAE: Spicy/flame-grilled chicken QSR with multiple UAE outlets. Closely comparable to Nando's on flavour-led positioning, chicken-centric menu, and family/group dining occasions; competes for similar price points and mall locations.
• Hardee's UAE: Burger-led QSR with strong UAE footprint operated by Americana. Directly competes for casual dine-in and value-meal occasions alongside Nando's Casa Deals, with overlapping mall and high-street locations.
• KFC UAE (Americana Group): Largest chicken QSR operator in the UAE, operating hundreds of outlets under the Americana franchise. Directly competes with Nando's on chicken-centric dine-in and delivery, with overlapping spice-level customisation and similar mall-based real estate footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Shake Shack UAE: Premium casual diner with UAE presence. Competes with Nando's for share-of-stomach in mall dining and family outings, but with a higher price point and burger-led menu rather than flame-grilled chicken.
• Pizza Hut UAE: Established family-dining QSR with UAE dine-in, delivery and sharing-platter format. Competes with Nando's for family/group occasions and sharing platters, but operates in a different cuisine category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nandosuae
• Facebookfacebook.com/nandosuae
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nando-s-united-arab-emirates/?viewAsMember=true
• Instagraminstagram.com/nandosuae/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@nandos.uae

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nando's UAE