Seven founders behind Nigeria’s best-known fast-food brands

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Read History Go to My Account Log Out Enhanced by Google News Seven founders behind Nigeria’s best-known fast-food brands From a campus food stall to multi-state restaurant chains, these entrepreneurs have helped shape the country’s quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry.

Listen to this article Share From a campus food stall to multi-state restaurant chains, these entrepreneurs have helped shape the country’s quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry.

Fast food is now part of everyday life in Nigeria’s cities, serving customers who want meals that are quick, familiar and fairly priced. Behind many of the brands consumers know best are founders who built businesses around local tastes and then faced the harder task of keeping quality consistent across many outlets.

Their paths differ. Some left careers in banking and accounting for the food business, while others drew on experience in catering and restaurant management. Their operating models differ too, from traditional dine-in restaurants to app-based ordering and pickup.

Here are seven entrepreneurs behind well-known fast-food brands in Nigeria.

Enunwa is founder and chief executive of Sundry Foods, the company behind Kilimanjaro, a QSR brand serving Nigerian and other African dishes.

He studied accounting at the University of Ilorin and holds a Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University in the United States, where his coursework covered chain restaurant management, hospitality real estate, investment, finance and development.

Before going into food, Enunwa worked in banking at Stanbic IBTC, where he headed the Port Harcourt regional office. He also spent time at accounting firm Akintola Williams Deloitte. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Sundry Foods started in 2004 with a bakery in Eleme, Rivers State. It launched Kilimanjaro in 2005 and later expanded to Abuja, Lagos and other locations. The menu covers Nigerian meals, pastries, sandwiches and beverages, and customers can order digitally, pick up their food or dine in.

The company also runs Pizza Jungle, Kiligrill, Nibbles Bakery and Nibbles Creamery, which reflects Enunwa’s wider footprint in food retail and hospitality.

Oloruntobi founded Item7Go, a QSR business known for party jollof rice and shawarma.

A Physics graduate of the University of Ilorin, he started the business in 2012 as a small food stall near the campus, serving students who wanted quick, convenient meals. It has since grown into a multi-outlet operation.

Item7Go’s differentiator is its ordering model. Through its mobile app, customers choose their meals and combinations in advance and select a pickup point, avoiding long queues. Party jollof rice and shawarma anchor the menu, alongside other rice meals and combo options.

The approach gives customers more control over their time and gives the business an ordering channel beyond the counter. The brand has since moved beyond its university roots and now serves customers in several locations.

3. Olayinka Pamela Adedayo, Tastee Fried Chicken

Adedayo is founder of Tastee Fried Chicken (TFC) and chief executive of De Tastee Fried Chicken Limited. She is also linked to Tastee Pot Limited, an outdoor catering company.

She studied Business Administration and Finance at Chicago State University, graduating in 1978, and then worked as a store manager at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Chicago from 1978 to 1980.

On her return to Nigeria, she worked briefly at Nigerian Breweries before joining the Federal Civil Service, where she was an administrative officer at the Federal Ministry of Finance from 1981 to 1990. She left in 1990 to go into food service, starting with outdoor catering before establishing TFC.

Her hands-on US restaurant experience shaped her entry into the Nigerian market. TFC grew into a QSR brand while Tastee Pot continued to serve the catering segment.

Adedayo has served as president of the Association of Fast Foods Confectioners of Nigeria and is involved in charitable work through the Olayinka Pamela Educational Foundation.

Kamson is founder of Sweet Sensation Confectionery Limited, which grew from a small Lagos operation into a recognised QSR brand.

She studied accounting at the University of Lagos, later attended Lagos Business School, and worked as an accountant, including in the oil-services sector, before turning to entrepreneurship.

Her early ventures included a fish-sourcing and marketing business and a pastry and cake company called Citycate, which supplied individual and corporate customers. That experience in baking and food supply laid the groundwork for Sweet Sensation.

In 1994, she launched the business from a small shed in Ilupeju, Lagos, a former gatehouse. It initially sold pastries, cakes, chicken, rice and ice cream before expanding into a full QSR operation.

Kamson did not jump straight from paid employment into a restaurant chain. Her route ran through earlier ventures, food production and supplier relationships, and it remains one of the best-documented examples of a Nigerian entrepreneur scaling a small food business into organised food service.

Akinyanju is the entrepreneur associated with the founding of Food Concepts, the company behind Chicken Republic.

Food Concepts was established in December 1999 and began operations in 2000, initially in the quick-service and food business before building its own brands. Chicken Republic became a core brand, positioned around Nigerian tastes and accessible meals. Its menu features chicken meals, rice dishes, sides and value combos, and its restaurants serve customers across several Nigerian states. The company has also reported operations in Ghana.

Food Concepts has also developed other concepts, including PieXpress and The Chop Box, and its portfolio has shifted over time as it focused on proprietary brands.

Akinyanju’s role is best understood through Food Concepts, the corporate platform that built and runs the brand. Its growth has required developing food products, restaurant operations, supply arrangements and a network of outlets.

Food Concepts is a public limited liability company but is not listed on the Nigerian Exchange, according to its corporate information.

Ayeni is the founder of Tantalizers Plc, one of Nigeria’s early home-grown quick-service restaurant brands. Before going into food, she worked at Lever Brothers Nigeria and Senkay Nigeria.

She started Tantalizers in 1997, building a brand that brought African menus into the QSR format. The company also runs outdoor and industrial catering, and earns revenue from both company-owned and franchised outlets.

Tantalizers listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2008, which set it apart in a sector dominated by private operators. The listing brought public-market scrutiny, and the company has had to contend with tougher competition and years of financial pressure. In 2024 it got a new majority shareholder, Food Specialties, and a reconstituted board. It has since reported a return to profit for the 2025 financial year.

The late Charis Grace Onabowale founded Mama Cass in 1983 as a cafeteria on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, in Lagos, at a time when few Nigerian food businesses operated in a structured format.

The business became a limited liability company in 1996 and adopted a quick-service format in 2006. It grew into a broader food-services group with restaurants, bakeries, outdoor catering and corporate catering, and it spun off separate companies, including Jayden Food and Confectionery and Premier Chef, which handles events. Mama Cass also expanded into the United Kingdom, an unusual move for a Nigerian food brand of its era.

The brand later shrank under competitive pressure, closing outlets, but it has since relaunched with refreshed branding and menus. Adetokunbo Oguchi, executive director, Woodhall Capital, recently signed an advisory agreement with her covering restructuring and cross-border expansion. Onabowale died at 76.

The seven stories show different routes into Nigeria’s QSR sector, from a technology-enabled pickup model to established restaurant and catering operations; which shows the gap between starting a food business and building a brand that works across many locations. As outlets multiply, operators must keep food quality, supply, service standards and daily operations consistent. A popular menu is not enough; the systems behind production and service matter just as much.

Chioma Onuh is a journalist, social media manager and SEO specialist with over five years of experience in digital storytelling and audience engagement. She writes clear, human-centred stories and profiles, and currently manages digital content and strategy at BusinessDay.