The Death of Mr. Bigg’s
Mr. Bigg’s is Nigeria’s premier fast food restaurant, but just as majority of the nation’s premier lofty exploits now stand in a state of decayed-and-frozen monuments, Mr. Bigg’s is no different. It’s mind-boggling how Mr. Bigg’s is not an imperious brand by now. How does a brand whose history dates back to as early as the 1960s now suffer to stay afloat and find any form of reasonable relevance in an industry it dominated for decades. Mr. Bigg’s was modeled after the famous American McDonald’s — almost a complete copy. After series of transformations, the initial coffee shop on Kingsway was named Mr. Bigg’s in 1986. It became the first drive-through restaurant in Nigeria, and one of the first Nigerian companies to sell franchises to investors. The brand boasts of over 170 locations in about 40 cities in the country (which includes a savvy partnership with Mobil to site an outlet at every fueling station), but those buildings today are typically empty and quiet. This was a brand that was at some point one of the top ten restaurants in the world by customer count. This was a brand that was known for its specialty/signature — meat pie. But sadly all that is gone today, and its fame is steadily sliding into mockery and neglect.
What was/is Mr. Bigg’s problem? First, they got satisfied with their achievements and saw no need to raise their game. Before Chicken Republic and KFC even arrived on the scene Mr. Bigg’s was already on its way down, failing to adapt and keep up with what was in vogue — both in quality of product offer and quality of service. It was already losing market share to the brands that emerged after it — Tantalizers, Tastee Fried Chicken and Sweet Sensation, who were more creative and adaptive. To sum it up, Mr. Bigg’s food just wasn’t tasting as nice as Tantalizers, Tastee Fried Chicken and Sweet Sensation (who all offered products Mr. Bigg’s offered and even more) and the service was poorer too. And sadly it still remains poor till today.
So you walk into a typical Mr. Bigg’s restaurant today and what you can expect is poor quality food, poor service, poorly kitted staff, and a not-so-relaxing and hygienic atmosphere to eat in. Before Mr. Bigg’s can be the big giant it was before, and be Nigeria’s sweetheart again it has to do a major rebranding that should include restating its specialty and brand promise, because for now it has none — it just exists. And it’s hard to understand how the current logo change in its recent half-hearted rebrand is an upgrade from the old one.
