German Doner Kebab – or GDK – chief executive Simon Wallis admits some initial surprise when he learned a franchisee was opening an Edgware Road branch.
‘It’s really important for a brand to understand what it stands for and what its position is,’ says Wallis, who joined GDK in 2023 after 13 years with Domino’s Pizza .
‘GDK has the opportunity to do with kebabs what McDonald's did to burgers, what KFC did to chicken, what Domino’s did to pizza or Subway did to sandwiches,’ says Wallis.
While GDK counts the UK as its home market, the brand also trades in Sweden, Saudi Arabia, the US and Canada, each of which presents its own challenges to meet local appetites.
The offer of signature sauce and spice mixes will be familiar to kebab lovers, but GDK differs from a typical high street kebab in some crucial ways.
