It might be the largest restaurant management company in the Southern Caribbean, but Prestige Holdings Ltd (PHL) exhibits a personal, values-driven approach to business more commonly associated with much smaller organisations.
“I’ve worked with many multinationals and large local companies,” says Vice President of Operations Jim Leung Chee. “PHL is the one that really stands out because our values are not just words on a piece of paper – we demonstrate them every day.”
Committed to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction, PHL is located in Trinidad & Tobago, its operational base since 1972. The firm is currently responsible for over 130 restaurants across five major international brands: KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Subway and TGI Fridays. New Prestige Holdings stores are opening every year in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Guyana, but despite such sustained growth, the company has remained consistent in its attitude and united in its goals.
“We might be quite a large company, but executives regularly interact with store staff, and we try to limit the distance between different levels of the organisation,” Jim explains. “It helps us to implement our values – We Serve, We Do the Right Thing, We Act with Passion and Purpose, We Grow Great People, and We Get Better Every Day – across all sites.”
Giving Back
Putting its values into practice, Prestige Holdings has become a key contributor to the social and economic landscape of Trinidad. Specifically, the company creates over $385 million TTD for local suppliers each year (66% of its annual buy value) and employs more than 3,000 people at present.
“Our contribution to our community is probably the largest in the industry,” Jim states. “We are now taking that same drive and commitment to Guyana, Jamaica, and beyond. It’s important to PHL that we deliver the best quality and value to all our customers and stakeholders, in every region where we operate.”
Perhaps the best example of PHL’s positive impact on local communities is the company’s Harvest Program. Launched in 2023, the initiative re-purposes food from KFC stores across the region, creating over 500 meals a day for those in need.
“We’ve made significant investments to help NGOs as part of the Harvest Program,” Jim adds. “We have refurbished our refrigerated truck to keep food fresh, and staffed that truck with a salaried driver to help pick up unsold food for the program. That truck then delivers the food to NGOs for them to distribute to people who need it.”
PHL’s charitable work in the Caribbean is not only an effort to live out its values, but also to give back to a region that the company cares about deeply. After 50 years in Trinidad, Prestige Holdings has gained a strong knowledge of the market and a good standing in local communities. The organisation’s biggest brand for example, KFC, enjoys some of the largest market penetration in the world. Much of this success is derived from Prestige Holdings’ ability to adapt the famous chicken restaurant to suit Caribbean tastes.
“KFC, famously, has built its reputation on a secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices,” Jim remarks. “When we brought KFC to Trinidad, we took a chance and innovated on that recipe to better serve the preferences of Caribbean customers. The result was the KFC Zinger and Cruncher sandwiches, as well as the ‘Spicy Crispy’ chicken recipe. All are now quite popular in the region and across the world. You could probably even say that the KFC menu today is as much Trinidadian as it is from Kentucky!”
Home of the Zinger
PHL’s role in KFC sandwich innovation, and particularly the development of the brand’s iconic Zinger, is an extraordinary story in its own right. At the heart of the tale is a PHL employee and another of the company’s core values in action – growing great people.
“The Zinger was invented here in Trinidad and our very own Anthony Martins played a part in that process,” Jim reveals. “Anthony started as a crew member in a KFC store, helped create the Zinger, and has since worked his way up to become our VP of Business Development.
“It’s an example of how we look for talent, give people opportunities, and develop their skills,” he continues. “I’ve seen many, many employees come into the company as regular crew members and work their way up to management positions. That’s not common in most other firms, but our people see it happen here, and it engages them. It helps them to realise that working for PHL is not just a job but a career.”
Utilizing the knowledge and expertise of its people, PHL now has its eyes on further expansion, with a long-term goal of becoming a multinational over the course of the next few years. At the forefront of this mission is a willingness to embrace technology and provide customers with the market’s most modern guest experience. For instance, in 2024, PHL ranked as one of the Latin America-Caribbean region’s top performers when it came to e-commerce and in-store kiosk installation. Similarly, technology is also providing benefits for PHL internally.
Digital Revolution
“In a country of just 1.5 million, we are one of the industry’s global leaders in the digital push,” Jim declares. “Our supply chain is highly data driven, leading to greater efficiencies and performance. Since 2022, we have also implemented an e-tender platform that is creating greater visibility and transparency, reducing our carbon footprint, decreasing costs, and boosting efficiency in our procurement.”
Alongside innovation and technology, value supply chain and logistics management has been one of the core strategic advantages for PHL in recent times, allowing the company to remain the price/value leader in its market despite the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry facing global inflation fatigue.
“I’ve worked in several sizeable companies across a range of industries, including the energy, telecommunications, manufacturing, power, and food & beverage sectors,” Jim notes. “A key difference is that the QSR business is a ‘low-margin business’ and a strong value supply chain absolutely matters as it directly impacts the product and customer experience.”
In many ways, Prestige Holdings’ success in the Caribbean is an exercise in how to take global brands and adapt them, with care, to become a beloved part of local cultures and communities. Altered menu items might help get guests through the door, but a company that reflects the values of those it serves will be more successful in ensuring those customers keep coming back. For PHL, these learnings will be invaluable as it sets its sights on more extensive geographical growth.
“As our values suggest,” Jim affirms, “we always aim to do the right thing – whether that is supporting local bakers and farmers, reducing single-use plastics, or simply leading the market in keeping prices affordable. This will remain a focus as we grow. Our goal now is to bring our expertise and values from Trinidad & Tobago to the world.”
