Paul, a family-owned French bakery chain, is heading to South African shores, thanks to Famous Brands. The bakery, which began in 1880 in Northern France, has stores in 41 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, America and the Middle East.

A photo posted by Katie Hickey (@k8e_hickey) on Nov 13, 2015 at 7:01am PST

According to IOL, the Famous Brands group has been courting Paul for two years, with the goal of improving their offering in the premium end of their restaurant stable.

“The patron loyalty factor is extraordinary; we look forward to generating similar enthusiasm for the brand in this country,” Famous Brands group chief executive Kevin Hedderwick told IOL. 

 

 

A photo posted by Prats (@prats2007) on Oct 25, 2015 at 4:51am PDT

 

The franchise group has signed an agreement to become Paul’s South African licensed partner for a ten-year period. According to the agreement, the group is set to open five restaurants in the next five years, starting with a flagship branch in Johannesburg by the end of 2016.

A photo posted by DUBAICRAVINGS (@dubaicravings) on Nov 9, 2015 at 4:27am PST

According to Moneyweb, the French company was not willing to part with its recipe for croissants, so those, along with some other products, will have to be imported frozen.

We look forward to trying out Paul’s famed croissants, palmiers, cakes and other slightly zany products like the surprise loaf (a loaf of bread filled with gourmet sandwiches) soon.

 

 

A photo posted by PAUL Thailand (@paulbakerythailand) on Nov 16, 2015 at 10:50pm PST