Nando’s Flame-Grilled Chicken Restaurants’ ‘Year of the Golden Boar’ Campaign Adds Fun and Luck To Lunar New Year Celebrations Across the Lower Mainland
~ Chinese Red Gift Envelopes Bearing Free Quarter-Chicken Vouchers a Hit with Celebrants ~
Vancouver, BC – February 19, 2007 – Nando’s Flame-Grilled Chicken Restaurants is proud to announce the success of its ‘Year of the Golden Boar’ campaign at various Lunar New Year celebrations hosted by Asian communities around the lower mainland from February 16th to February 18th, 2007. To help ring in this ‘golden’ year, Nando’s Flame-Grilled Chicken Restaurants sent out highly recognizable Feed Teams to various Lunar New Year events in the lower mainland, culminating with the annual Chinese New Year parade and festival in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Sporting traditional Chinese dresses or catchy white t-shirts at Korean venues, the Nando’s Feed Teams were around the lower mainland greeting crowds and handing out instant giveaways and specially marked red envelopes. At the Chinatown parade alone, the Nando’s Feed Teams gave out close to four thousand red envelopes to revelers within a two-hour period. Each envelope contained a special voucher for a free quarter-chicken redeemable at any Nando’s restaurant in British Columbia.
“As part of our mission to be involved with and supportive of the communities our restaurants serve, we were excited and proud to have the opportunity to contribute to so many peoples’ celebration of the ‘Year of the Golden Boar’,” said Mark Majewski, National Marketing Director for Nando’s Canada. “Understanding the importance of this holiday, we are extremely pleased with the positive reception the Lunar New Year crowds gave the Nando’s Feed Teams and our red gift envelopes. To keep up with demand, we’ll be sure to bring even more envelopes with us when we do this again next year.”
With the ‘Year of the Boar’ traditionally known to be luckier than other Chinese zodiac years, to add extra luck to the ’Golden Boar’ experience, Nando’s has also included a Grand Prize Draw and a charitable element to this promotion. All customers who redeem their free quarter-chicken voucher by March 15 can be entered into a draw for a Grand Prize of 600 Nando’s Bucks, and Nando’s will also donate one dollar in food product for every voucher redeemed – to a maximum of six-hundred dollars – to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. for charitable purposes. “Nando’s wanted to support the total Lunar New Year experience,” said Majewski. “By combining culture and tradition with good fortune and charity, we believe everyone had fun and enjoyed this landmark celebration in a meaningful way.”
The Nando’s free quarter-chicken voucher is valid at all Nando’s restaurants across British Columbia. The Grand Prize winner of 600 Nando’s Bucks ($600 retail food value) will be drawn on March 15, 2007 and announced shortly thereafter.
About Nando’s Canada
Nando’s Canada is a privately owned restaurant group specializing in tasty, flame-grilled peri-peri chicken. With eighteen restaurants in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario – many of which are licensed – Nando’s delivers maximum flavour and food quality to health-conscious people. For more information or to find a restaurant location near you, visit www.nandoscanada.com.
About S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is now one of the largest immigration and social service agencies in British Columbia. Its mandate is to promote the well-being of Canadians and immigrants, and to encourage their participation in the community. This is accomplished through providing social, employment, educational and health services, business and community development, and advocacy.
Photo Editors: Additional high resolution photos and images of the Nando’s Lunar New Year Feed Teams in action are available.
For additional information on the ‘Year of the Golden Boar’, the Nando’s Feed Teams and/or contest details, please visit www.nandoscanada.comor contact:
Nando’s Canada Fact Sheet
Company Profile
• Nando’s Canada is a privately owned restaurant group specializing in flame-grilled peri-peri chicken.
• The company’s head office is in Richmond, British Columbia.
• Nando’s Canada was established in 1994 with the opening of its first restaurant location on Ackroyd Road in Richmond, BC.
• The company’s main business focuses on a franchise business model in addition to merchandise sales and distribution.
• Nando’s Canada currently has approximately 300 employees, with 18 restaurants – many of which are licensed – across Canada.
• The company is affiliated with the global Nando’s brand and restaurant group.
Operations
• The company currently has 1 corporate-owned restaurant in BC and 17 franchise-operated restaurants (11 in BC, 5 in Ontario and 1 in Alberta).
• Nando’s Canada also distributes its own brand of sauces via a strong network of retail and grocery outlets. Product lines include:
o Peri-Peri hot sauces
o Marinades
o Cooking sauces
• The company is focused on engaging all communities and multi-cultural societies in Canada.
• The company is heavily involved in the community, including ongoing support for:
o Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
o Kids Up Front, a charity that donates unused event tickets to underprivileged children across Canada
o Multi-cultural Support Programs (e.g.: S.U.C.C.E.S.S.)
Global Brand
• Founded in 1987 in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Nando’s brand enjoys international recognition.
• Today, the Nando’s brand operates in over 30 countries and has over 700 restaurant locations worldwide.
• The company is growing its brand around the world and is actively seeking additional markets and franchises.
Nutrition and Health
• Nutrition and healthy diet are important to Nando’s - in 1995, Nando's became the first Quick Service Establishment in Canada to commission independent nutritional research on all its meal offerings.
• Nando's uses only A-grade chickens, which are trimmed of excess fat before cooking. The flame-grilled cooking process burns away most of the remaining fat.
Management Team
• Dan Isserow, President and CEO
• Mark Majewski, National Marketing Director
• Tony Lopes, Director of Operations
Nando's Golden Boar Fact Sheet
2007: The Year of the Golden Boar
• The year 2007 is the believed to be more special than a regular Boar year, which comes every 12 years.
• Asian fortunetellers believe 2007 to be the ‘Year of the Golden Boar’ which comes every 600 years.
• Extreme luck, success and prosperity is believed to be associated with those being born in this ‘Golden’ year.
Lunar New Year (Also known as Chinese New Year)
• Known in China as the Spring Festival, this is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.
• Known as ‘Seollal’ in Korea, this holiday is one of the most important ceremonies for Korean families.
• The festival properly begins on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the 15th day, on the Lantern Festival.
• Celebrated globally in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Korean, Mongolians, Vietnamese, Tibetans, the Nepalese and the Bhutanese.
• The Lunar New year is also known for massive human migration; it’s a time when all Asian families travel home for family reunions.
• In the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year falls on different dates each year, on a date between January 21 and February 20.
Chinese Zodiac
• The Lunar New Year follows the Chinese animal zodiac:
o The Lunar year follows the sequence of the 12 zodiac animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and lastly, Boar.
o With the Boar being the last animal, it is believed to be more ‘lucky’ than other animals.
Animal Dates
Boar February 18, 2007
Rat February 7, 2008
Ox January 26, 2009
Tiger February 14, 2010
Rabbit February 3, 2011
Dragon January 23, 2012
Snake February 10, 2013
Horse January 31, 2014
Goat February 19, 2015
Monkey February 8, 2016
Rooster January 28, 2017
Dog February 16, 2018
Boar February 5, 2019
For additional information, please visit www.nandoscanada.comor contact:
Steve H. Kim, IN CONTEXT Marketing & PR, skim@incontextonline.com(604.683.4833)