Having served her time making beer and selling chocolates and cola, an Irish woman is now making her mark in the fast-food sector. Ms Siobhan Bergin (34) has been appointed to develop and expand the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) chain in Germany by the Tricon group, which operates the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC franchises worldwide.
KFC currently has 15 restaurants in Germany and Ms Bergin expects to open about 150 over the next four to five years, as part of a major expansion. This week she gave a talk at Dublin City University about the changes she has seen in franchising and the fast-food industry.
Ms Bergin is used to being the first to do things. In 1986, she broke into one of the most traditional male preserves in the drinks industry, when she became the first female brewer with Guinness.
In its own small way, "it was like the first woman landing on the moon", she says and recalls how some male brewers thought she was "a little bit odd".
While she enjoyed working there she became impatient with the pace of career development, and the long waiting list for all senior management positions.
Ms Bergin then spent a period working with Mars Confectionary UK with its egalitarian corporate culture, where even the managing director had a clock-in card. She says she then took a crucial decision to study for an MBA in France and was soon working for PepsiCo, the international soft-drinks group.
When that company decided to sell its food business, Tricon was established. In 1997, Ms Bergin became general manager of the KFC chain in the Czech Republic and was involved in its sale to a franchise partner.
She then found herself appointed to the KFC board in Britain which controls 400 retail outlets with a turnover of £200 million. She eventually left the board to take up her current position.
Ms Bergin says the challenge in her new job is to take on fast-food giants like McDonald's, which has 1,000 stores in Germany. When marketing fast food, she says, everything is worthless unless an effective television campaign is mounted.
Fast-food outlets are trying to alter their long-standing image as the places you visit after leaving the pub. "At KFC we are trying to make our stores all about families and how best to serve them." She says KFC tries to use a standard international menu, but sometimes it has to be changed to take account of local tastes.
"For example, because of the environmental movement in Germany, crockery is used in many fast-food outlets."
The key to successful franchising is to make sure people feel confident about investing in the brand, she says.
"You have to manage the relationship with the franchisee and listen to them when they tell you about local factors," she adds.
As for the future of fast food she says customers are becoming more adventurous.
"I remember when I worked in Britain we introduced a salsa burger and to our amazement it really took off," she says. "Nowadays people actually want good quality food, lean pieces of meat and as few additives as possible."
