The big business of Bun Kebab

Whether or not there is proof of Bun Kebab's lineage going back to burgers, or maybe it is the other way around depending on which was invented first, a strong family resemblance is undeniable. Belonging to a family fortunate to have more than three children is perhaps the reason behind conceiving such a controversial comparison in the first place, but thereafter circumstantial evidence carries the debate.
For the inexperienced, the parents in a family of 5 or more will always lose the numbers game when it comes to deciding where to eat out. Imagine how long would it take for an adult on a continuing burger diet to deduce the aforementioned genealogy and to conclude that democracy is a farce?
Ever since a wise man pointed out that a family which gives birth to a genius should also have two normal kids so that they can support the genius, the average size of the family is on the rise. After all which parent does not believe that his child is a genius. And since everybody only gives birth to geniuses they paradoxically have to continue to have more children in the hope of balancing the 2 normal: 1 genius equation. This puts an additional pressure on the world population, which has already exceeded 7 billion, thereby accelerating the spiral into the burger trap.
It is both fascinating and relaxing to let the mind occasionally zigzag around a subject. For instance we just conceived the outline of a conspiratorial burger trap implicating a particular wise man in the process. Imagine the kind of pilikia mental meandering can cause to the myth commonly known as democracy. Limitation of time and space, and the fact that both are relative according to Einstein, restrict any further discourse on democracy, but let this be fair warning that the time is not far when the current romance will fade and a publication willing to expose the conspiracy that is democracy, will rise!
On a slightly different note, while the Theory of Power continues to be in incubation and is currently afflicted by mental blockage, it is expected to be revisited in a couple of weeks, InshAllah. Getting back to the business of bun kebab, the similarities with a burger are abundant and persuasive. Both require a bun, the standard option has a meat based patty, some butter, sauce and vegetables and good to go. But it does not end here; both are cooked in front of the customer, come with a take away option, are very economical therefore have mass appeal, outlets do not require massive investment and can be located most anywhere. The absence therefore of a global bun kebab chain is a mystery.
McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,000 local restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in 119 countries each day. More than eighty percent of McDonald's restaurants world-wide are independently owned and operated by local men and women, McDonald's official website.
Since the chain opened in 1955, it has sold more than a 100 billion burgers, one in every eight American has worked with them, is the world's largest distributor of toys, opens a new restaurant every few hours, more than 50,000 students from all over the world have graduated from the Hamburger university, Antarctica is the only continent which does not have an outlet and last but not least, the sun never sets on the golden arches! Curiously the Big Mac has proved to be a leading index on purchase price parity maintained by the Economist. This achievement speaks volumes about the entity's unflinching focus on details to deliver the same quality and quantity of food, clean environment, standardised outstanding service every time at all outlets at a comparable and discounted price globally.
Impressive by any standard! There are many more fast food chains and perhaps Subway had more restaurants than McDonalds at the end of last year; however none before or up till now managed to elevate the business of burgers to a multi-disciplinary science, art and entertainment simultaneously.
Curiously there are no secret recipes, as opposed to the legends in the case of the colas. In fact the creators of the original burgers and concept and from whom the chain gets its name, the McDonald brothers sold out quite early to the visionary Ray Kroc, the man behind the franchisee business model.
Whether McDonalds is in the business of burgers or in the business of real estate is not really relevant, what is, is the fact that the model is public knowledge. Critically it is clean fast affordable dependable food, period. There is no rocket science! Ray Kroc, put the hamburger on the assembly line.
To clarify, it is called a hamburger because it came from Hamburg Germany and was always made from beef. By the way the Frankfurter, commonly referred to as the Hot Dog originated from Frankfurt, also in Germany. Fast cars and fast foods!
McDonalds, according to the numerous public data and literature, is a successful partnership of independent franchisees, employees at the corporation and suppliers operating as a well oiled machine pursuant to well defined operating procedures, down to taking orders in the drive way. While McDonalds is more about strict adherence to quality and procedures, its path to glory was paved with marketing and image building, again not impossible to replicate.
So why hasn't the region with more than one third of world population not produced a comparable fast food chain till now? The answer could be that with approximately 41,000 Chinese restaurants in the USA, more than all McDonalds, KFC and Burger King, China's food industry does not want to rock the boat. Ever wonder whether China's dominations of global economy emanates out of a master plan which initially conceives setting up restaurants and beauty parlor in every target country!
Nonetheless, the answer inexplicably excludes the entire subcontinent. There are Karachiites whose mouth will water remembering their cities famous bun kebabs; Peshawaris with a penchant for the chapel kebab; or the more local pulao kebab. Perhaps all of these creators are waiting for their "Ray Kroc" to take them to the top before their inevitable demise.
The taste already there, if it works you don't have to invent it, all that is needed is an entrepreneur to replicate the model and discipline to drive the kebab business. There have been earlier attempts for some domestic food chains to branch out but apparently unless the franchisee model supplemented by the supplier model is carefully adopted, financial or logistic constraints will remain a potent hurdle. Consider the potential; USA with a population of around 311 million has over 13000 McDonald outlets. With a population of around 190 million Pakistan can have how many Bun Kebabs?