Franchising

School's in session for Experiential Brands

The Original Hot Chicken mascot poses with a statue of Auburn University's mascot on campus. Photo: Experiential Brands

August 26, 2024

Experiential Brands, a portfolio of fast casual restaurant concepts including The Original Hot Chicken, Flametown Burgers, INKED Tacos, and Pinsa Roman Pizza, opened its first university locations at Auburn University, East Carolina University and the University of Tennessee. Each college campus offers a combination of the company's brands.

"Our restaurant concepts are expertly designed to fit into a space like a college campus, as a food truck or as a stand-alone restaurant," Aziz Hashim, founder and CEO of Experiential Brands, said in a company press release. "We're excited to grow our non-traditional presence across college campuses. Being a part of the on-campus community with our university partners gives students and staff the opportunity to enjoy delicious, affordable meals to curb any craving."

The college expansion is part of Experiential Brands' broader strategy to reach diverse consumer segments in high-traffic, non-traditional venues.

"Tiger Dining is always working to elevate Auburn Student's dining experience. When presented with the opportunity to partner with Experiential Brands, we were impressed by their broad portfolio and how easily they could adapt to our needs," Glenn Loughridge, director of dining and concessions at Auburn, said in the release. "They have fresh concepts that resonate with our student demographic and bring unique flavors that add variety to the dining options at the Melton Student Center."

In addition to expansion within college campuses, the company has established a presence internationally with non-traditional restaurants in London and Dubai and is set to open The Original Hot Chicken with a brick-and-mortar location in Toronto later this year.

Experiential Brands recently debuted SocialBites, a food hub with all four restaurant concepts and BarSocial under one roof.