The Romanian entrepreneurs who developed the restaurant chain Salad Box have recently introduced a new brand in the local market, namely the fast-food chain Pep & Pepper.

They will open a Pep & Pepper restaurant in the AFI Palace Cotroceni mall this week, after opening other two units in Baneasa Shopping City and Park Lake, reports local Ziarul Financiar.

This year, the company also plans to open Pep & Pepper restaurants in the Promenada and Mega Mall shopping centers in Bucharest.

SaladBox is a brand of fast food restaurants developed by four entrepreneurs from Cluj, which has reached more than 40 units in Romania, Hungary, Germany and Algeria. It is the third largest fast-food restaurant chain based on the number of units in Romania, after McDonald's and KFC. Around 70% of the Salad Box restaurants are operated via franchisees, according to the latest data.

The brand was founded about four years ago by the local entrepreneurs Dan Isai, Radu Lupas, Daniel Lar, and Vlad Lupas. Besides Salad Box and Pep & Pepper, the entrepreneurs have announced plans for a network of cafes under the name of Narcoffee Roasters.

In Romania, the fast-food restaurant market is estimated at over EUR 250 million. The sector is dominated by international chains, such as McDonald’s and KFC, but there are also small companies operating shawarma restaurants, for example.

editor@romania-insider.com