First takeaway Ocean Basket opens in Middleburg

Ocean Basket Middelburg forms part of a food court environment with four other brands. Driven by a mission of offering healthy and flavourful food, warm and friendly service and an inviting atmosphere, it aims to lure customers in transit with a distinct style and passion for great food.

"Take-away continues to be a hot trend but in many cases they're limited to the option of choosing either a burger, fries or a pizza, which leaves a gap when it comes to enjoying a variety of restaurant-quality food that's not only freshly prepared, but made in the quickest time," says Nana Lloyd, head of marketing for Ocean Basket.

"We felt there was a niche for a new type of convenience restaurant for people who are looking for something special and varied. From the consumer's point of view, one of the major appeals of the new outlets will be the ability to guarantee freshness and offer a menu that goes far beyond typical seafood takeaway fare."

The take-away menu offers a range of different courses (with choice of sides), food on the move (wraps and seafood sandwiches designed for eating on the go) and a Halaal option. Following global trends, arguably one of the biggest attractions will be freshly prepared, packaged and ready-to-eat sushi.

"We are applying the same quality control philosophies as our normal store with a further focus on our sushi take-away. All sushi is manufactured on site and is dated and timed for quality purposes. All product are checked and monitored with time sheets and rotated to ensure consistent standard."

In addition to Ocean Basket's signature sushi, the main course menu includes fish & chips, calamari, Kingklip, prawns and line fish.

Entrepreneurial opportunities

"Large and middle market restaurant companies have ready access to capital, but franchisees are finding it more challenging to secure debt financing. The new format provides more opportunity for entrepreneurs, at a lower level of investment. It has now become more accessible to franchisees that do not have unencumbered funds of over R1-million. Set up costs are a little less than half of a normal store."

"We have 40 stores planned by 2017. The roll out of these stores into the Shell sites will take place with most Ultra City upgrades. We have had a large request by owners of normal Shell outlets to have a 'take-away' attached to their retail portion. We are currently reviewing the model now that it is active and will be perfecting the operating model so we can sell the concept to all our franchisees and landlords from the new year." Concludes Lloyd.