Sides

About Sides

Launched in 2021 by Virtual Hero - which is owned by Hero Brands, the company behind German Doner Kebab, Choppaluna and Island Poké - Sides is a virtual food concept developed in collaboration with YouTube collective The Sidemen. The fried chicken concept combines “pop-culture references with delicious chicken dishes” and was initially available for delivery only via virtual restaurant operator Reef and sold exclusively online in the UK and the UAE via all major food delivery platforms. Its first high street restaurants opened in London’s Dalston and the Merry Hill shopping centre in the West Midlands late in 2023, which was followed by standalone openings in Manchester’s Arndale centre and Kent’s Bluewater centre.

In April 2024, it opened a site at the Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, followed by a launch at Brent Cross shopping centre in March 2025. The following month, the business revealed its target locations as it looks to double its estate by next year and deliver £200m in revenue. It said: “By next year, Sides projects: 12 restaurant locations, more than £2m in weekly revenue and our first £200m revenue milestone. Building on our successful performance in Manchester, we’re expanding into prime student markets across the UK, including Bristol, Newcastle, Leicester, Liverpool and Edinburgh.”

The brand made its international debut in June 2025, in Singapore, and following this, is looking to expand into the UAE, Australia and New Zealand. In December 2025, the brand said it is to make its Scotland debut with two openings - in Glasgow and Livingston. In February 2026, Sides said it was aiming to open 15 new restaurants globally in 2026, including Scottish and Welsh debuts in the UK, plus further international growth to add to its two sites in Singapore.

Following this, managing director Aaron Moore-Saxton told Propel the business is “well geared up for progressive and proactive franchise growth” and “should be able to pit ourselves against any of the big chicken operators”. He said: “As a brand, we’re really investing in the senior team to be well geared up for progressive and proactive growth with high levels of franchisee support. Momentum builds momentum, so those first locations will build momentum not only with those franchise partners - but in those larger cities and conurbations there’s definitely an opportunity for more than one store, so we can build quickly from that base.

“Chicken as a space in the UK is taking market space from other operators, so there is room for us all to play in, and we should be able to hold our own against any of the big operators with our 100% British chicken offer.”

Moore-Saxton said while Sides grew initially as a dark kitchen brand, which once had 180 points of distribution, “as the market has evolved, the brand is back to focusing on bricks and mortar”. He said: “That was built off a relationship with a master franchise partner. Hero Brands and the Sidemen are fully aligned on building Sides as a long-term, scalable global brand.

“As we’ve entered the next phase of growth, it became clear that bringing the franchisor function directly in-house would provide greater strategic control, operational consistency and stronger alignment with franchise partners. Growth will remain firmly franchise-led, underpinned by a more robust central team, clear performance governance and disciplined site selection, while retaining flexibility to consider selective equity participation where it adds strategic value.”

It was through the previous master franchisee - which is still on board, but now just as a franchise partner - that Sides’ opening so far have been restricted to shopping centres (plus one Boxpark). Moore-Saxton added: “Our shopping centre locations have been incredible, but we have an incredibly flexible model, and I don’t see any reason why we can’t be operating across all aspects of the property space. Whether that be in travel hubs, high streets or out of town retail parks - the design and model allow us to play in all those spaces.” That same month, Sides launched its first university food truck tour across the UK, as it aims to capture “student loyalty”.

In April 2026, Sides closed its Merry Hill and Bluewater sites following a strategic review but said it has four more openings lined up, and in June 2026, it made its Scottish debut, in Glasgow. Its seventh UK site opened the following month, in Liverpool.

Why franchise with Sides

• ✓Sides is looking for high net worth individuals with branded F&B experience to become multi-unit franchisees. Sides is available for delivery across cities such as London, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and the UAE, and Ireland is also part of their expansion plans. Sides has become the second-most followed chicken food brand in the UK, with over 250,000 followers on Instagram. On YouTube, there are 20+ videos reviewing Sides menu, with over two million views.