A Story on the Growth Philosophy of Eddy Massaad, Founder of Swiss Butter
In a business world obsessed with speed, expansion has become the modern symbol of success. More locations, more markets, more visibility, for many brands, growth is a race measured in numbers. But Eddy Massaad, the founder of Swiss Butter, has built his global brand on a far more unconventional belief: scaling too fast destroys more businesses than it elevates.
His approach is neither cautious nor conservative. It is intentional. While countless operators chase aggressive rollouts and franchise deals, Massaad has quietly taken Swiss Butter in the opposite direction, expanding only when the foundations are unshakeable, and only at the pace that protects the brand’s integrity.
After more than 19 openings across the world, his philosophy has become clear: growth is not the goal. Survival is.
1. He Believes Growth Reveals Cracks, Not Strengths
Massaad has seen firsthand how rapid expansion can expose the vulnerabilities of a business. When a brand is small, leaders remain close enough to spot issues and correct them. But scale magnifies everything — operational gaps, inconsistencies, weak leadership, and broken systems.
At Swiss Butter, every new location is treated as a test of readiness. The company does not expand unless the systems, standards, and teams are proven to hold their weight. Massaad’s view is simple: growth should validate a brand, not break it.
2. He Protects Culture Like a Core Asset
Many brands expand quickly and realise too late that what they built wasn’t a culture — it was just an operation. Massaad refuses to make that mistake.
The Swiss Butter culture is deliberately cultivated, protected, and practised from day one. Through the Swiss Butter Academy, new recruits don’t just learn recipes or service steps; they learn the mindset behind the experience.
It’s the reason the company has avoided franchising altogether. As Massaad often says, you can outsource operations, but you can’t outsource culture.
3. He Insists on Genuine Global Consistency
Most brands talk about consistency. Few truly achieve it.
For Swiss Butter, consistency is a non-negotiable. Whether a guest walks into Swiss Butter Riyadh or Swiss Butter London, the energy, execution, and quality must feel identical. That level of uniformity is only possible because the company owns every single store and refuses to compromise standards for the sake of speed.
Massaad believes that many brands scale quickly through franchising or licensing, only to watch their guest experience dilute. Swiss Butter avoids this at all costs.
4. His Financial Discipline Drives Better Decisions
With no outside franchisees funding expansion, Swiss Butter treats every opening as a major investment, financially, operationally, and culturally.
This forces discipline. Every site must be the right site. Every team must be the right team.
To Massaad, this isn’t restraint. It’s responsibility. A brand built for longevity cannot rely on shortcuts, external capital, or the illusion of fast success.
5. He Knows It’s Easier to Scale Problems Than to Solve Them
Operators who scale prematurely often look back with regret, wishing they had fixed internal issues before multiplying them across markets. Massaad has built Swiss Butter with the opposite logic: resolve problems early or don’t expand at all.
Clean systems. Clear expectations. Predictable execution. If something fails at three stores, it will fail catastrophically at thirty.
A Brand Built on Intent, Not Impulse
Swiss Butter’s growth story is not defined by speed. It is defined by conviction.
Massaad has chosen ownership over franchising.
Quality over shortcuts.
Culture over chaos.
Guest experience over quick profit.
His philosophy is grounded in a simple truth: anyone can open ten restaurants in twelve months, the real question is whether those ten restaurants still make you proud five years later.
For Eddy Massaad, scaling is not a sprint. It is a responsibility – one that requires discipline, patience, and unwavering loyalty to the principles that made the brand special in the first place.
In the long run, the brands that endure aren’t the ones that grow the fastest.
They’re the ones that remain true to what matters most.
