The A14 used to be the bane of my life.

Both sets of parents live over on the east side of England, so I’ve spent more than my fair share of time trucking up and down it, and as the saying goes, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’.

Not anymore though.

Because these days, a halfway stop is made a whole lot more palatable thanks to one of my all-time favourite eating establishments:

Wendy’s.

My mum hails from Canada, so I spent plenty of time there as a kid, eating junk food and shooting moose (just kidding), and as a result, Wendy’s holds a special place in my heart.

It’s like the fast food we’re all familiar with, but a whole lot better.

And now it’s arrived at the Brampton Hut Interchange, the journey to and from Suffolk and Essex has an entirely different complexion.

The amazing thing from my perspective? The last time I went there, it was heaving.

If you’re familiar with the services in question, you’ll know it was already VERY well stocked before Wendy’s arrived.

McDonalds, Burger King, Greggs, Starbucks, Subway, M&S; the who’s who of branded food, the very definition of a crowded market (there’s even a Brewer’s Fayre if you fancy a couple of pints before you get back on the road).

And yet Wendy’s has rocked up, and taken a good chunk of that market, despite being a pretty small player as far as UK fast food is concerned (25 restaurants to McDonald’s’ near 1500 sites).

My point is simple: even if you operate in a market where there’s a seriously big player or a lot of competition, it doesn’t mean you can’t get your fair share of it.

Just because there’s a big beast serving the same people you want to serve, all is most certainly not lost – show up, deliver an excellent product, be patient, market well,
and you’ve got every chance.