Bahrain - Franchising Bahrain - Franchising
The demand for U.S. franchises remains strong in Bahrain, particularly in the fast food, restaurant, and retail sectors. More than one hundred U.S. franchise restaurants and outlets operate in Bahrain, with new ones opening regularly. Many major brands are present in Bahrain, among them: Five Guys, Texas Roadhouse, Baskin Robbins, Burger King, Caribou Coffee, Chili's, Cold Stone Creamery, Dairy Queen, Domino's, Dunkin Donuts, Elevation Burger, Fuddruckers, the Great American Bagel Co., Hardee’s, IHOP, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Krispy Kreme, Little Caesar's, McDonald's, Nestle Toll House, Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, Potbelly, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Roundtable Pizza, Seattle's Best Coffee, Starbucks, Subway, TCBY, Texas Chicken, Tony Roma’s, and ZPizza. Although Bahrain’s market seems to be very receptive to new franchising opportunities, it is a competitive medium with a varity of local and international franchises and many of them utilize broadly popular internet and app-based food delivery services, including Talabat and Carriage, to advertise and compete.
Bahraini firms are eager to establish new market opportunities and are interested in investing in foreign franchise concepts. Most franchisees finance their franchise purchases through bank loans, personal savings or family investment funds. Local businesses increasingly view franchising as an opportunity to establish additional consumer-oriented businesses. The franchise market is growing rapidly in several sectors, among them fast food and restaurants, hospitality, automotive services and spare parts, high-end fashion, printing, and convenience stores.
The Bahraini Government has yet to develop a specialized body of legislation to regulate franchising activities. Franchise agreements are governed by standard commercial laws. Bahrain’s legislation for regulating patents and trademarks constitutes the most specialized body of commercial laws that apply to franchising activities. Bahrain is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and has ratified the WTO TRIPS agreement. The Bahraini Government has brought its national laws and regulations into compliance with the principles of both these agreements. Bahrain is also a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and a signatory of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Registered patents are valid for 15 years, renewable for and additional period of five years. Trademark registration is valid for ten years.
The Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Bahrain, operating under the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has been promoting franchising as a model for helping grow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and attracting local and foreign investment. A major step towards reaching this objective has been the establishment of the Franchise Association for the Middle East (FAME), co-founded by the OECD MENA Investment Center and the Lebanese Franchise Association (LFA).