NEW ORLEANS – Krispy Krunchy Chicken, a branded convenience store foodservice program, announced it has received a strategic growth investment from Main Post Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with experience partnering with iconic brands and multi-location foodservice platforms.
Krispy Krunchy was founded in 1989 by Neal Onebane, a convenience store operator in Lafayette, La. KKC partners with retail operators, primarily within convenience stores, to provide a branded QSR-style foodservice offering in a flexible format. The Krispy Krunchy menu features a proprietary Cajun fried chicken and an assortment of sides. Over its 32 year history, KKC has grown to service more than 2,600 retail locations in 48 states.
“We’ve built and grown the Krispy Krunchy brand over multiple decades by relying on the word-of-mouth marketing and loyalty that develops when consumers are introduced to our highly crave-able Cajun fried chicken. During the next phase of growth, we are excited to partner with Main Post, given their deep experience in the foodservice sector and track record of building enduring consumer brands,” said Dan Shapiro, CEO at Krispy Krunchy Chicken.
“We are very excited to partner with Dan, the Krispy Krunchy team, and a brand that has struck a chord with its avid customer base. The scale and success of KKC is very impressive, but we see a substantial opportunity to further unlock the brand’s potential and grow awareness of Krispy Krunchy’s crave-able, convenient products,” said Aaron Garcia, Principal at Main Post Partners.
Brookline Capital Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor and Katten Muchin Rosenman served as the exclusive legal advisor to Krispy Krunchy Chicken; Davis Wright Tremaine served as exclusive legal advisor to Main Post Partners.
KKC’s mission is to create a new profit center for convenience stores and other retail channels with a professional food service concept that enhances overall store profitability and image.
“Over the past few years, we have been contacted by various private equity firms, as well as some strategics,” said Shapiro. “With Main Post we felt that not only was the time right, but now we had the potential right partner as well. There is a huge upside in our model. We are in almost 2,700 convenience stores out of a population of the 153,000 convenience stores in the United States. Obviously, they are not all candidates for our concept, but there are many thousands that are. We would like to triple or quadruple our growth during the next five years or so. Main Post has the same vision, and is helping us with growing our sales base, and the analysis of potential locations and current sales and location data. They have proven to be a great partner so far.”
KKC is the official fried chicken of the New Orleans Pelicans, exclusively operating three fried chicken stands in the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. KKC is a supporter of Covenant House, Son of a Saint, Louisiana SPCA and many other organizations that make an important impact on the local community.
During the pandemic, KKC cooked for hospitals throughout Louisiana and provided meals for police, firefighters and other essential workers. This is in addition to thousands of meals that have been donated across the Gulf Coast for Hurricanes Michael, Delta, Laura and Ida, tornadoes in Oklahoma and much more.
The company’s accounting headquarters are in Alexandria but Dan Shapiro and other executives are based in New Orleans.
