Mexico is not just importing brands; it is importing models. In its latest move, Alsea signed an agreement to bring Raising Cane’s—one of the fastest-growing fast-food chains in the United States—to its portfolio, with its first unit slated for the second half of 2026.

This move is a strategic play at a time when consumption is fragmenting, competition is multiplying, and loyalty is decided plate by plate.

The logic behind it is not to accumulate brands, but to balance them: when one category cools, as has recently happened with Starbucks, another keeps the pulse; and when consumers resist a price increase, another allows the company to compensate without losing traffic. That balance is crucial in an environment where Alsea’s revenues grew 7.5% in the first nine months of 2025 versus the same period in 2024, while same-store sales advanced at a more moderate pace, with average year-over-year quarterly growth of 3.4%, roughly half of what was seen a year earlier.

In that context, Raising Cane’s is more than a gastronomic bet: it is an entry point to a proven hyper-focused model, where a single product—breaded chicken—sustains volume, efficiency, and preference even in periods of caution.

For Mexico’s retail real estate market, the arrival of the thirteenth brand operated by Alsea—including Chipotle, which will open in 2026—signals additional expansion on top of the 113 outlets it opened between January and September 2025.

On this front, SiiLA data show that, over the last year, the company increased its gross leasable area in shopping centers by 2.5%, with more than 2,000 square meters absorbed in the country’s main markets, led by Chili’s, Starbucks and Italianni’s, which together account for six out of every ten square meters occupied by the franchise operator.

Taken together, the arrival of Raising Cane’s and Chipotle, the accelerated expansion of a portfolio that over three years has added an average of one hundred locations annually, and sustained revenue growth, all suggest that in 2026 Alsea will once again test Mexican consumers’ appetite for global concepts that demand speed, repeatability and operational discipline. And so, in an environment where inflation is reshaping habits and every square meter has to justify its existence, the company is fine-tuning a board on which scale, efficiency and rapid adoption stop being advantages and become basic conditions of play.

To fully understand tenant movements in the retail market, visit SiiLA Market Analytics or write to us at contacto@siila.com.mx.