SINGAPORE – It might have seemed as if 4Fingers Crispy Chicken had found the recipe to success when long queues became a common occurrence at its ION Orchard outlet, but the company took almost five years to grow beyond that first store.

A change in ownership last year gave the brand the boost to get an expansion spree going, and within 18 months, it added another six stores in Singapore and launched its first overseas outlet in Kuala Lumpur. CEO Steen Puggaard intends to keep the momentum going.

He told TODAY that he hopes to see 15 4Fingers stores in Singapore by 2017, and 20 in Malaysia by 2018. The homegrown brand — often mistaken for Korean, given its Korean-style fried chicken — also has its eye set on other mature markets, such as Australia, the United States and Europe.

“What drives us is not the proximity of the countries, but how ready they think they are to 4Fingers,” said Mr Puggaard. “When I say ‘ready’, what I really mean is a large base of consumers having visited traditional fast-food places for many, many years ... but in their minds they wish for something better.”

Showing optimism as he spoke about 4Fingers, it came as a surprise when Mr Puggaard revealed that he had previously left the company after only a short stint, as he felt that the brand’s potential was limited by its then-owners’ unwillingness to invest in its growth. He joined the company in February 2013 upon the invitation of the previous owners to expand the brand that made its debut in 2009, but left after only seven months on the job.

He declined to name the previous owners. The 4Fingers website states that the brand was started by four friends, who had chanced upon several eateries in New York City selling Korean fried chicken and decided to take that experience back to Singapore and South-east Asia.

“About three years ago, I went to ION, ordered a huge tray of food and thought ‘This is actually pretty good’. The concept is new, fresh and different so I took the job (but) it was difficult for me to grow the business. I would spend a lot of time lining up leases, but they eventually lapsed one by one because we had no funding,” he said. “So I decided to leave after a few months. I said: ‘Look, whenever you’re ready, give me a ring and we’ll work it out’.”

But instead of waiting for that call, Mr Puggaard decided to take matters into his own hands, facilitating a change in ownership and taking a 3 per cent stake in the venture. Mr Puggaard officially returned to the company last year — joining the board in April and becoming CEO in October.

The remaining 97 per cent stake is now held by a businessman active in mergers and acquisitions. The previous owners of 4Fingers left the company following the acquisition.

“Our current controlling owner (has) given me the funding and freedom to shape the business the way I think it should be shaped,” said Mr Puggaard, whose food and beverage resume over the last 20 years includes stints with McDonald’s, Burger King and the Les Amis Group.

The 4Fingers team at its head office has grown from just Mr Puggaard to eight staff today. Another 150 staff are employed to run its seven stores here.

When asked how his past experience has influenced his management of 4Fingers, Mr Puggaard said he hoped the brand would achieve the attention to quality such as that in higher-end restaurants, while at the same time possessing the mass-market reach of traditional quick-service outlets.

“Whether you are very ‘atas’ (high class) or lower-priced, there must be a brand experience,” he said.

“What we like to think is the 4Fingers experience is that we’re a little bit naughty, a little bit irreverent, a little bit rebellious.”