SpudBros Express, the viral jacket potato concept founded by the Preston-based SpudBros and food brand operator Taster, has signed an exclusive area development agreement with Forward Hospitality covering the United Arab Emirates. The deal grants Forward Hospitality exclusive multi-unit development rights across the UAE and marks the brand’s first move outside the United Kingdom. The opening site is scheduled for Galleria Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi in the second half of 2026.
The structure is the story. Forward Hospitality has not bought one restaurant; it holds exclusive multi-unit development rights for the entire UAE, with additional sites planned as part of a long-term rollout. That places the partner on the hook for a development schedule and gives SpudBros a single accountable operator across all seven emirates rather than a patchwork of unit franchisees.
For investors reading the deal, the distinction matters commercially. Area development rights carry build-out obligations and territorial exclusivity in exchange — a fundamentally different risk and return profile from single-unit ownership, and one worth understanding before signing anything.
The agreement follows more than a year of collaboration. The relationship began with a SpudBros Express brand presentation in Abu Dhabi in July 2025. The concept then made its regional debut during the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where the SpudBros Express pop-up became the bestselling food vendor across the event.
Signing this agreement is a huge milestone for us.
That Grand Prix pop-up functioned as a live market test — a low-capital way to measure whether a distinctly British street-food format could hold an audience in the Gulf before either party committed to real estate. It is a model more brands should copy.
A Forward Hospitality spokesperson said the company is “passionate about identifying exceptional hospitality concepts and introducing them to new audiences across the UAE,” adding that it intends to bring the format to market “while staying true to the spirit that has made the brand so successful.”
The UAE units will operate across dine-in, takeaway and delivery, alongside dedicated food truck operations designed to reach communities and major events. Running a mobile fleet in parallel with fixed sites is a deliberate hedge: trucks generate brand visibility and event revenue at a fraction of a mall lease, and they let the operator test demand in districts before committing to a permanent unit there.
Galleria Al Maryah Island sits in Abu Dhabi’s central business district and draws a mixed catchment of office workers, residents and visitors. For a fast, low-ticket format, that combination supports weekday frequency rather than weekend-only trade — the same catchment logic that has drawn a steady stream of Western concepts into the emirate.
The UAE has become the default first stop for British and American brands testing the Gulf, and the pattern is now well established: MOOYAH signed UAE master franchise rights earlier this month, while Chipotle chose a master franchise partner for its Saudi entry. Strong local operators, mall infrastructure and a young, high-spending population make the region unusually forgiving of format experiments.
Three signals are worth extracting from this deal.
First, social-native brands are now bankable franchise assets. A concept built on short-form video reach can convert that audience into a signable international rights package faster than a traditional chain can build unit count — provided the operating system behind it is real.
Second, the event-first entry route works. A single high-visibility pop-up at a Formula 1 weekend generated the evidence that unlocked exclusive national rights. For operators in Asia Pacific and MENA evaluating an unfamiliar Western concept, insisting on a live local trial before signature is cheap insurance.
Third, the UAE remains the region’s proving ground. Brands that perform at Galleria-tier locations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are far better placed to negotiate Saudi, Qatari and wider Gulf rights afterwards — which is precisely why UK-origin restaurant brands continue to treat the Emirates as their bridgehead into the region.
Source: The Grocer — SpudBros signs first international expansion deal with UAE hospitality firm
