Kairat Kakimzhan invested his first earnings into opening a Mexican fast-food restaurant in Almaty, but a few years later, he had to shut it down. His second venture—a sandwich chain called “6 Inch”—also failed to meet expectations. Yet, he didn’t give up. In 2021, he quietly launched the first outlet of Kiki’s Chicken, and today, the chain boasts 11 locations, with its revenue surpassing 1.5 billion tenge last year.
This article explores why the entrepreneur shifted from burritos to fried chicken, how the team behind Irina Kairatovna helped propel his business, and why döner shops are thriving while burger joints are shutting down.
“In the U.S., burritos are like doner for us”
Born in Semey, Kairat Kakimzhan completed his schooling there before moving to the U.S. under the Bolashak program. After earning an economics degree in 2013, he returned to Kazakhstan and gained experience at companies like Ernst & Young, Procter & Gamble, and the state holding Samruk-Kazyna before venturing into business.
Three years later, he left his corporate career to open a Mexican restaurant—a cuisine he had grown fond of in the U.S. His decision wasn’t just driven by a love for burritos and nachos but also by his wife’s culinary skills.
“One day, we hosted a Mexican Night party, and everyone was amazed by the burritos my wife made. She never cooked beshbarmak or plov for me, but she mastered international dishes. Mexican fast food is extremely popular in the U.S.—burritos there are like döner for us. That’s when I thought: why not open a Mexican eatery? Plus, I was already disillusioned with working in the public sector.”
With a modest personal investment, he launched his first fast-food spot, BurritoGo, at the end of 2016. His former colleague from Ernst & Young joined as a co-founder. The restaurant specialized in burritos, tacos, and nachos.
“The food industry was relatively easy to enter back then, with low initial investment requirements. My friend and I each put in 7 million tenge. And, of course, there’s the romantic appeal—many dream of opening a café or coffee shop.”
Despite Mexican cuisine being a novelty in Kazakhstan, the business gained traction. By 2018, they opened a second, larger outlet on Panfilov Street, following the area’s redevelopment. Unlike the first, which was a compact 50-square-meter test location, the new restaurant was a full-fledged fast casual venue spanning 220 square meters. In its first month, it generated 20 million tenge in revenue.
“We learned the business on the go and made plenty of mistakes. But at the time, we probably created the coolest fast-casual restaurant in Kazakhstan. BurritoGo was a creative project with a unique design and a build-your-own meal concept. We dreamed of making the Panfilov café a household name.”
“We did everything like in American Fast Food”
The Panfilov location quickly gained popularity, appearing in blogs and TV segments. Franchise requests started rolling in, including from abroad. However, just a year and a half later, BurritoGo shut down. Establishing a new culinary habit among customers required both time and financial backing—something the business lacked. As a result, turnover was low, and Kazakh consumer behavior differed significantly from the American model.
“We implemented the American-style service where customers assemble their burritos by adding ingredients to a tortilla. But our customers took more than the standard portion—where we budgeted for 70 grams of meat, they would take 110 grams. This significantly increased costs.”
The tragic death of renowned Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten in 2018 further impacted the business. Ten had planned to retire from sports and was gradually becoming a co-owner.
“Denis was a childhood friend of my business partner Sanzhar Tlegen. He had just started getting involved in our business when the tragedy happened. It completely threw us off track for six months.”
Kairat and Sanzhar lost around 110–120 million tenge in their first venture, mostly borrowed through the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund. They also forfeited their pledged property.
“We faced many difficulties. It took ages to secure a loan from Damu. Meanwhile, rental debts piled up. In a business that relies on fast turnover, this was a critical blow.”
“I realized I had to focus on one project”
After BurritoGo shut down in 2020, Kairat partnered with the popular blogger Birzhan Ashim to create a Kazakh equivalent of Subway—a sandwich chain called 6 Inch. At its peak, the chain had eight locations—three in Astana and five in Almaty.
“I entered with minimal capital, focusing on marketing, investments, and expansion. Thanks to the hype created by Birzhan Ashim, our first outlet had two months of nonstop queues. Franchise requests flooded in, but we proceeded cautiously.”
However, like BurritoGo, rising costs impacted profitability, and regional demand was weaker than expected.
“Then my partner Shumakho and I began working on Kiki’s Chicken. That’s when I knew I had to commit to just one project. Fried chicken was the obvious choice—it was a more familiar product with broader appeal.”
“We observed, analyzed, and learned the operations”
In 2021, Kairat rented a space in Almaty and launched the first Kiki’s Chicken outlet. The Kazakh music group Irina Kairatovna became brand ambassadors and co-founders.
“I borrowed the startup capital from a senior mentor under the agreement that he’d get equity if things went well—or I’d owe him if they didn’t. Our first location operated in test mode with no advertising. We spent months analyzing operations before opening two more locations and officially launching, with Irina Kairatovna giving us a massive push through their viral music video ‘MVP.’ That’s how Kiki’s Chicken was born.”
The first three outlets cost 110 million tenge to establish. Although the business expanded rapidly, Kairat took a cautious approach to scaling.
“Franchise inquiries exceeded those of 6 Inch. But before franchising, we needed to perfect our operations—understand our audience, ideal locations, menu, and equipment. I feared rushing into franchising and damaging our reputation.”
Current business metrics
Over four years, Kiki’s Chicken has grown into an 11-outlet chain. Two locations are in shopping malls, two have seating areas, and six operate as kiosks. One location in Astana is in the MEGA SILK WAY mall. Four outlets are run by partners, but operations remain centralized.
With 70 employees, last year’s revenue reached 1.5 billion tenge, with a 15% profit margin. The average bill is 4,500 tenge.
“Delivery is a major revenue source, though aggregator fees take up nearly 30%.”
The shift from burgers to doner and chicken
According to Kairat, 80% of burger joints opened between 2018–2019 have closed due to declining purchasing power.
“Today, döner shops are thriving while burger joints transition to chicken. Beef prices are rising, making burgers less profitable. I even use a ‘fast-food index’: if döner and chicken brands are booming, the economy is struggling.”
Future plans: selective franchising
“We’re looking for committed franchisees—ideally, professionals with 30–40 million tenge in savings who want to become entrepreneurs. We’ll train and support them. A poorly cooked wing can ruin an entire brand’s reputation.”
With over 500 million tenge invested—half lost to mistakes—Kairat is confident in scaling the business. Kiki’s Chicken aims to reach 20–25 corporate locations before franchising extensively.
