Never shy to make political comment, Nando's has taken a stand against controversial President Donald Trump in the United States where it has six outlets. In the days before Trump's inauguration, black signs appeared in Nando's' store windows, and last week, 60 000 copies of the campaign ad were found in the pages of The Washington Post's free commuter newspaper, The Express.
The ad has one side of a sign showing an unbranded red heart with the text: #EVERYONE IS WELCOME. On the other side, the Washington Post declares: "Nando’s Peri-Peri is an Immigrant EMPLOYING, Gay LOVING, Muslim RESPECTING, Racism OPPOSING, Equal PAYING, Multi CULTURAL chicken restaurant where #everyoneiswelcome".
Trump has signed a controversial executive order that blocks immigrants from 7 Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
We've always been about social commentary. It's played a big role in the markets in which we operate. Sometimes social commentary becomes political commentary. Nando's does both.
— Sepanta Bagherpour, vice president of marketing at Nando’s USA
Sepanta Bagherpour, vice president of marketing at Nando’s USA, has been in Washington for four years and explains that it's been "very humbling" introducing Nando's to the American audience.
"We've had a strong response from people, from those who know and love the brand. It's very paralleled to what we receive in South Africa, which is encouraging."
— Sepanta Bagherpour, Vice president of marketing at Nando’s USA
