Chopped, the fast-growing fast food chain, is to create 320 new jobs in Ireland as it doubles the number of outlets it has to 40.
The Irish company said it also intends to take on 110 employees in Britain as it expands overseas, with plans to open six outlets in the UK by mid-2017.
Brian Lee, a finalist in last year's EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards, set up Chopped with partner Andy Chen in 2012.
Chopped’s goal is to offer healthy takeaway options for customers, through a range of salads, wraps, sandwiches and soups. The company currently has 20 outlets in Dublin, many of which are franchises. The 20 new Irish stores will be mix of wholly owned and franchised outlets, the firm said.
“Last year we set a target of increasing our staff numbers by 100 and we exceeded that expectation by increasing our employees by 140 in 2016. When we received the keys for our first store five years ago, we knew it was the beginning of something great, but we still believe this is only the beginning for Chopped,” said Mr Lee.
Abridged accounts for the fast food firm show released last July show accumulated profits rose from just €19,507in 2014 to €232,713 in 2015.
The single store franchise fee for Chopped is €15,000, with the company estimating the turnkey capital cost to open an outlet to be about €150,000. The company charges a royalty fee to franchisees that is equivalent to 5 per cent of net sales.
