A recent survey showed that fast food eateries have more market hold in UAE and Saudi Arabia, as compared to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. A recent poll run on social media site Netlog, which reveals the popularity of major quick-service chains in the Mena region, said that, on the contrary, Egypt topped the list of MENA countries for consumer preference to not eat at quick-service restaurants. While 37 percent of the people polled expressed their preference against fast food eateries, the figure was followed by 16 percent in Saudi Arabia and 10 percent in the UAE, and 29 percent in remaining countries. McDonalds scored well in Saudi Arabia (31 percent) and UAE (37 percent) while its performance waivered in Egypt (14 percent) and in all remaining countries (16 percent), the report said. Pizza Hut maintained an 18 percent share-of-popularity across the UAE, Egypt and all remaining countries, except for Saudi Arabia where it scored at 12 percent, the report added. KFC scored 11 percent in Saudi Arabia, 14 percent in the UAE, 12 percent in Egypt, and 17 percent in remaining countries. "Pizza Hut and KFC, both franchises under the Yum! Brands umbrella, do remarkably well when tallied together," said Timothy Bataillie, managing director of the MENA region at Massive//Media, the media group behind Netlog. "While McDonalds has a steady lead in the KSA, its position in the UAE is less tenable, and it has considerable catching up to do in all remaining countries," he added. "It is unclear as to exactly what factors contribute to this dramatic difference in preference," said Amir-Esmaeil Bozorgzadeh, Special Projects manager at Massive//Media. "Whether it be a combination of dietary habits and preference on the part of consumers, or brand presence and marketing on the part of the franchise chains, it is certainly an indicator which begs us to look deeper."
