By Abdullah Niazi
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round the turn of the 21st century, Pakistan was fast on its way to becoming one of the many darlings of globalization. In 1997, the American fast food chain KFC set up its first branch in Pakistan and was quickly followed by McDonalds opening its first branch in September 1998. Both fast food giants started operations in Lahore. Before the entry of these two fast food chains, the only prominent international chain that had already been established in Pakistan was Pizza Hut, which established its first branch in the country in its iconic hut-shaped building in Lahore’s M M Alam road in December 1993. All three of these franchises significantly changed the culinary landscape of not just Lahore, but the entire country. Crowds milled outside their stores for their opening, people made reservations to eat at Pizza Hut, local fast food restaurants started shuttering up and very quickly these chains started spreading all over the country. It was a fast food revolution, a complete overhaul in which Pakistan was entering the auspices of being an American ally and thus being open for business. So when Dunkin Donuts decided it would allow franchises in Pakistan, it had examples to learn from. Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and KFC had all become wildly successful, and all of them had started in Lahore.
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Dunkin Donuts had a very different product, but Lahore was hungry for more products straight from America. The only question was how Dunkin Donuts would present itself. One must remember that at this point, while it was fast food, the newness and curiosity surrounding these American franchises meant eating at these places was considered an excursion of high society. So when Dunkin Donuts opened its doors to the Lahori public in 2000, they did so in the still developing but very
new-money area of Defense. Very quickly, they too became incredibly popular. Except what they had going for them other than having American brand value was that they were also a coffee shop with bright orange colours which were the height of aesthetic appeal in the early 2000s. Dunkin Donuts now became a ‘cool’ spot. It was where you went on first dates and where you got a box packed to take as a gift to someone’s house. But in the past two decades since Dunkin Donuts has opened, it has not seen the kind of success that KFC and McDonalds have seen. KFC currently has more than 92 outlets all over Pakistan, and McDonalds has nearly 80 outlets. Pizza Hut has fallen behind on this front, but that is mostly because it has been beaten by Dominos, another foreign chain that now has nearly 50 locations across the country. In compar-
