F&B Division Foodmark set to enter Bakeshop and Café Arena

Dubai-UAE: 13 October, 2013

Landmark Hospitality, the hospitality and leisure arm of Landmark Group, today announced a tie-up between its food and beverage division Foodmark, and Pie Face Holdings, an Australian micro bakery cafe chain that specializes in savory and sweet pies, pastries and other baked products.

Foodmark has entered an exclusive franchise arrangement with Pie Face Holdings to launch and operate over 100 cafes for the brand in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar over the next ten years. A number of commissaries will also be opened, to support specialist production of Pie Face products for the Middle East.

Kuwait-based global advisory firm Univest Consultancy Group facilitated the agreement between Pie Face Holdings and Landmark Group.

Kieran Mallon, COO, Foodmark said, "Landmark Hospitality has always taken pride in introducing great F & B concepts to the Middle East, and with Pie Face we are bringing something completely unique to the region with a specialized concept serving a range of fresh baked sweet and savoury pies, coffee and other innovative options.  The concept has a distinct personality which will be an instant hit in the Middle East region. Moreover, our heritage in working with malls and property developers through the years gives us a great advantage in terms of selecting ideal locations for our cafes."

Established in 2007, Foodmark operates a number of internationally franchised restaurants within the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar including acclaimed Italian café Carluccio's, Mango Tree, Chi'Zen and Max's Chicken and has also launched Zafran, a home grown, Indian, casual dining restaurant.  Max Burger, a burger franchise from Sweden is the latest quick service restaurant addition to the Foodmark portfolio. Foodmark also has joint ventures with Ushna, The Meat Company, La Gaufrette and Bazerkan. With its passion for genuine hospitality and creativity, Foodmark aims to be the leader in the Middle East's restaurants and hospitality market.

"At Pie Face, we are excited about entering the Middle East market. The MENA region has consistently welcomed new ideas and options, and we are confident of the potential Pie Face products has in the market. Foodmark, with its customer insights, market experience and operational strengths is an ideal partner, and we are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration," said Wayne Homschek, Co-founder and CEO of Pie Face.

Pie Face is an 80 unit micro bakery café chain founded in Sydney, Australia in 2003. It currently operates in Australia and New Zealand and has recently opened six stores in New York City along with a US subsidiary. The Company makes savory and sweet pies, pastries and other baked products from scratch in addition to serving gourmet espresso and filtered coffee through its 'wake me up' coffee range.  

The first Pie Face Café in the Middle East will open in the UAE in 2014.

-Ends-

About Foodmark
Foodmark is the food and beverage arm of Landmark Hospitality.

Established in 2007, Foodmark operates a number of internationally franchised restaurants within the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar including Carluccio's, Chi'Zen, Mango Tree and Max's Restaurant. Foodmark launched has its own brand restaurant, Zafran in July 2010.  Foodmark also has joint ventures with Ushna, The Meat Company, La Gaufrette and Bazerkan.  The latest addition to the Foodmark portfolio has been Max Burger, a burger franchise from Sweden.

Foodmark's vision is to be a market leader in the Middle East restaurants and hospitality market with dominant brands in the casual dining, fast casual and quick service categories. The group's passion for genuine hospitality and creativity resulted into a continuous expansion of its exceptional concepts offering fantastic cuisines in contemporary and innovative settings to suit each diner's distinct taste.

Landmark Hospitality is a division of Landmark Group, which is an international, diversified retail and hospitality conglomerate that encourages entrepreneurship to consistently deliver exceptional value. It operates over 1600 outlets encompassing a retail area of over 22 million square feet across 19 countries.

For more information please visit, www.landmarkgroup.com 

About Pie Face
Pie Face is an 80 unit micro bakery café chain founded in Sydney, Australia in 2003.  It is currently operating in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, with plans for entry into additional international markets in the next 12-24 months.  The Company makes savory and sweet pies, pastries, and other baked products from scratch in addition to serving gourmet espresso and filtered coffee through its "wake me up" coffee range.  Pie Face launched in Manhattan in early 2012 and now has five company owned/operated stores operating profitably, with three more to open in September.  The Company operates a "hub and spoke" business model whereby it builds independent commissaries in each major market it enters where all pastry products are made from scratch.  The products are shipped regularly to its stores where they are baked fresh in front of customers 24 hours per day.

For more information:
New York:
Wayne Homschek
CEO and Co-Founder
Email:  wayne@pieface.com.au
Mobile:  +1 347 463 0110

Middle East:
Sabina Khandwani
Head - Corporate Comunications & CSR, Landmark Group
Email: sabina.khandwani@landmarkgroup.com

Rishi Talwalker
APCO Worldwide
Direct: +9714 361 3572
Switchboard   +9714 361 3333
Mobile:  +971 55 9548680               
Fax: +9714 388 8001
Email:  rtalwalker@apcoworldwide.com

Alina Lobo
APCO Worldwide
Phone: +971-55-1511649
Email: alobo@apcoworldwide.com

© Press Release 2013