Mpusuyambisi

An Ulwazi cutlet atop a red tornado has been the international corporate logo since the enterprise's founding.

The text on the overseas location logo is varied between Uhlangan (above) and Anglic (pictured).

Mpusuyambisi Production Combine, branded internationally as the Mpusuyambisi Corporation (lit. “Meat Tornado”) is a Phansi Uhlangan multinational fast food restaurant chain. Founded in 1983 in the city of Diqasa and now possessing hundreds of locations worldwide, it began as the division of the combine dealing with catering services for the thousands of employees at the numerous affiliated enterprises and combine subdivisions. At this time Phansi Uhlanga was experimenting with market reforms under the Gang of Eight that saw much of the catering services scaled back and its employees consequently laid off. Lacking employment but possessing access to beef and pork rations, a small group of street vendors organized around Bintu Kayiba, a food scientist who had implemented a method to cook mass numbers of Ulwazi cutlets in short order. Today the enterprise is well known for its classic red tornado logo as well as its Ulwazi cutlets and cassava wedges, though the menu also includes ice cream, chicken and pork products, fish, salads, and local fare targeted to individual countries.

It is the most popular fast food chain in Phansi Uhlanga and one of its most successful enterprises, with a presence in virtually every town and city in the country. Their best selling item is the signature Ulwazi cutlet, a variant of the traditional M’Birunan hamburger introduced during the Cultural Revolution. Customers may also buy products such as wumpa wine and an aphrodisiac claimed to be made from secreted pheromones of lions. Like most enterprises that operate outside of the country, Mpusuyambisi also has the important economic role of securing foreign currency reserves for the Uhlangan government. This is because the external labor credit is considered to be a weak currency owing to its low value (at a ratio of three hundred to a Latin solidus) and difficulty of transfer between internal and foreign accounts. This, along with allegations of labor abuses, unfair business practices and the health of its products have led the enterprise to be the subject of criticism in the media and several legal cases. Its prominence has made it a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, ethical business practices under a socialist system and consumer responsibility.

Products

Mpusuyambisi primarily sells Ulwazi cutlets, various types of pork, pork sandwiches, fried cassava wedges and peanuts, ice cream and various other desserts, as well as salads and various vegetarian fare. Additionally, individual franchises are encouraged to sell food items catering to local tastes, resulting in a remarkably diverse menu. Roasted pumpkin dumplings, hollowed out and stuffed with rice, potato, and meat are sold seasonally. In January of 2021, the enterprise announced that they would also begin selling plant-based artificial meat marketed under the “Bamvindu” brand, with “Bamvindu cutlets” as the signature line item. Several items, such as the “Heart Stopper” and the “mystery caviar” are sold as “gold items” only available in limited quantities at specific participating locations.

The enterprise’s menu is customized to reflect consumer tastes in their respective countries. Restaurants in several countries, particularly in Ochran, serve soup. Others in the Audonian region of Belisaria are known to sell frog legs (Cuisses de grenouille). Local variance from the international menu is a staple for which the company is well known, intended to abide by local regional taboos such as the prohibition on pork in Yisrael, or to sell items with which regional markets might be more familiar, such as prawn burgers and rice in Pulau Keramat. Both domestically and in many locations abroad, beer and wine are sold. In Mesogeia, the signature Ulwazi cutlet’s pilipili sauce is replaced with Tzatziki and sold in a pita.

Services & operation

Mpusuyambisi has a presence on more than four continents and dozens of countries, with major chains in Ganzak, the Republik Bebas Ketiga and Alanahr. It operates on the franchise model, in which local franchisees purchase the right to open and operate stores within a given area. These initial agreements granted the global headquarters in Diqasa very little control over regional branches in general and international branches in particular, resulting in issues of poor quality control, labor abuses and misuse of resources. In 1986 however the combine was at first nationalized by the new military government and in 1991 incorporated into the national catering system as part of the 4th Five Year Plan. This brought much needed structure to an enterprise that had expanded rapidly beyond its means of reasonable control, exacerbated by the economic crisis at home. Much of the menu, consisting of items using a number of one off or limited use ingredients, were removed in favor of a more universal standardization in business practices, marketing and so on. This alongside layoffs and the closure of hundreds of ailing stores worldwide, as well as integration into the new economic planning system, saw the enterprise stabilize by 2000.

In certain areas of operation, such as the Audonian region of Belisaria, the enterprise is instead marketed as a youth-centered, upscale casual dining restaurant in the style of western Belisaria’s famous cafes. These “MpuKafes” typically have higher quality ingredients, dine-in eating and even waitstaff. One such MpuKafe in the Ganzak capital is renowned for its beluga sturgeon caviar. Early attempts at expanding into certain high income countries were met with struggles as the local populace was not attracted to the extremely low priced menu. After many years however and with new branding it eventually achieved some level of success there.

Controversies

The whale cutlet was discontinued from participating chains in the RBK and elsewhere in 2004 after Mpusuyambisi's supply chain for whale meat was credibly accused of facilitating poaching in the eastern Ozeros. The controversy brought international attention in the wake of the 2004 Ozerosi Whaling Crisis between Phansi Uhlanga and the Association of Ozeros Nations after an AON-OWO anti-poaching force engaged whalers within the former's territorial waters.