Telepizza, the leading pizza restaurant chain based in Spain, has announced its planned arrival in Iran as of March 2017 via a strategic master franchise alliance with its partner Momenin Investment Group and the objective of 200 stores in 10 years.

This will mean opening some 20 establishments per year and an investment of €100 million in 10 years by MIG, PR Newswire reported.

The first store will be founded in the capital Tehran, after which seven others will be opened before the end of the year.

“The arrival of Telepizza in Iran is a major accomplishment in our international expansion and represents a great opportunity for our business. We are delighted to share the essence of our brand, nothing less than offering pizza with a unique flavor at any time or place, with Iranian consumers,” says Pablo Juantegui, chairman and CEO of Telepizza.

“We are very satisfied to have found a travel companion like Momenin Investment Group to begin our venture in Iran, which promises to be very interesting. We will be the first European chain in the QSR (quick service restaurants) segment to set up in this country, catering to the customers’ demand that went unmet up to this point,” says Giorgio Minardi, international chairman of Telepizza.

Since its arrival in Chile in 1992, Telepizza’s international expansion has not yet stopped: 1,342 shops (456 company-owned and 886 franchisees and master franchises) are operating in 15 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, offering its products to more than 60 million customers with total sales of €506 million per annum.

The company also has its own factories in six countries (Spain, Portugal, Poland, Chile, Columbia and Peru) as well as master franchise factories in six additional territories: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Central America, Russia, Bolivia, and Angola; and also has partner warehouses in Ecuador and Poland.

Telepizza is listed on the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges. Its shares started trading on April 27, 2016. The total number of shares is 100,720,679.

Several international brands in the food industry have taken advantage of the opening up of Iran’s economy. Croatian franchise Surf’n’Fries expanded its business operations to Iran earlier this year. Surf’n’Fries was founded in 2009 with the first sales outlet opened in the Croatian port city of Rijeka.

At present, the franchise is also operating in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Vietnam. It boasts the SURFFRY technology, using moisture from potatoes and hot air which, at 250 degrees Celsius, makes fries without using oil in just a few minutes.

Last month, Yum! Brands announced that it managed to secure the required licenses to set up business in Iran.

“The corporation aims to launch close to 300 branches in Iran within the next three years. The first branch will be opened in Tehran’s Andarzgou Boulevard in about a month,” said Ali Shabani, the legal director of Z.K.D. Corporation, the representative of the American brand in Iran, marketed as “Burger Sun by Yum”.

Yum! Brands, based in Louisville, Kentucky, has more than 43,000 restaurants in about 140 countries and territories. The company’s restaurant brands KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories.

It is estimated that one-third of Iranian spending at restaurants is concentrated on the fast food sector with Iranian families currently spending $2 billion annually on fast food (about $85 per family), according to a report by Tehran-based management consulting firm ILIA Corporation

Wealthy Iranians (the tenth decile) spending on restaurants is 41 times more than the first decile ($1,300 versus $31 per year), the report added.

It is estimated that 20,000 fast food establishments are operating in Iran, predominately in Tehran. There is also a large prevalence in the next four largest cities, namely Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad and Tabriz.

/ Financial tribune /

Iran exported 327,000 tons of horticultural products worth $1.2 billion during the seven months to October 21, according to deputy agriculture minister Mohammad Ali Tahmasebi. According to the official, apples and pistachios were the top export items. Tahmasebi made the remarks on the sidelines of the first Exhibition of Horticulture, Inputs, Greenhouses, the Related Industries, Machinery and Equipment or ‘HIGEX 2016’, which opened in Tehran’s Goftegoo Park on Wednesday. Domestic companies and businesses from 16 countries are showcasing their products and services in the four-day exhibition, which has been organized by Milad-e Noor Exhibition Company in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture with the aim of introducing investment opportunities in Iran’s horticulture and greenhouse sectors. It also creates a platform for entrepreneurial activities, creating jobs and paving the way for exchange of technology and expertise, IRNA reported. / Financial tribune /

Sculptures created from scrap parts by Iranian artist Jazeh Tabatabai (1931-2008) are on display in an exhibit at Tehran’s Shahrivar Gallery on November 25, 2016.

A collection of his paintings can also be viewed at the showcase, which will run until December 23 at the gallery located at 7 Hormoz Dead End, North Khazar St., in the Elahieh neighborhood.

/ Tehran times /

The Rural Cooperative Organization of Iran, affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture, will purchase 60,000 tons of oranges from farmers in Mazandaran to be stored for consumption during the Iranian New Year holidays in March, according to head of the northern Iranian province’s Agricultural Jihad Organization.

“The early frost which set in a few days ago prompted farmers to pick the fruit sooner. If the citrus is supplied to the market now there will be a significant fall in prices due to oversupply and local farmers will suffer. The government is purchasing the fruit at, or slightly above, market prices to support the farmers and control prices,” Delavar Heydarpour was quoted by IRNA as saying.

The Iranian New Year holiday – known as Nowruz – will begin on March 21, 2017. Domestic fruit consumption increases exponentially at this time of the  year as relatives and friends visit to one another. Fruit is a typical treat offered to guests in Iranian homes.

/ Financial tribune /

Millions of Muslims have been marching toward the shrine of the Third Shia Imam, Imam Hossein (PBUH), in the holy Iraqi city of Karbala, to mark the 40th day to follow the anniversary of his martyrdom back in the seventh century.

The faithful continued their procession on Tuesday with hearts brimming with his love.

The passion has made them resolute in the face of potential terrorism on their path to attend the ritual, which is set to be commemorated in the city on Sunday.

On Monday, the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh targeted the pilgrims in Karbala and security forces in Fallujah, another central city, killing at least six people in each attack.

“We are walking all these long distances, we are not afraid of terrorists, we are not afraid of Daesh,” said 56-year-old pilgrim Sattar Hussein. “We are not afraid of anyone who defames Islam. And especially those who are targeting the Arba’een.”

Muslims worldwide hold mourning rituals during the month of Muharram on the lunar calendar in remembrance of the sufferings imposed on Imam Hossein (PBUH), his family and his companions, by the tyrant of the time, Yazid I, an Umayyad caliph, in early Islamic history.

The events peak on the 10th day, traditionally known as Ashura — 30 days prior to Arba’een — when the Imam and 72 of his companions were martyred at the hands of the despot’s forces, to whom they had refused to pledge allegiance. /  press tv /

Some 230,000 tons of walnuts worth around $1.65 billion are produced in Iran every year from 153,000 hectares designated for the cultivation of the nut, an official with the Agriculture Ministry said.

“Iran holds third place after China and the US in walnut production and is followed by Turkey, Mexico, India, Chile, Serbia, Ukraine and Spain as major world producers. Walnut is grown over 1.2 million hectares of land throughout the world from which close to 3.4 million tons are harvested every year,” Ramezan Rouintan was also quoted as saying by Eranico.

The official noted that per capita walnut production in Iran amounts to 3 kilograms while the average global figure is less than half a kilo.

“We export around 5,000 tons of the nut per year and each kilo is priced between $6 and $8,” he said. Kerman, Hamedan, Lorestan, Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad and Kermanshah are the main walnut-producing provinces of Iran./ Financial tribune /

Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan is to arrive in Tehran on Sunday for an official visit. The top Chinese military official is scheduled to pay a three-day visit at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Lieutenant General Hossein Dehqan, Tasnim News Agency reported. Apart from meetings with Dehqan, the Chinese defense minister will hold talks with senior Iranian political and military officials on bilateral, regional and international issues. In September, China’s Ambassador to Iran Pang Sen had unveiled plans for reciprocal visits by delegations from the armed forces of Iran and China. Tehran and Beijing have close diplomatic, economic, trade and energy ties, and in recent years developed their military relations as well. In May 2014, the Iranian defense chief paid an official visit to China to negotiate mutual visits and personnel training cooperation between the two sides. / Financial tribune /