Quick service restaurants on expansion mode
Bangalore: Eating out is in again, and quick service restaurants (QSRs) that had frozen plans to add outlets during the slowdown are beginning to talk expansion once more. Some are also relaunching with newer menus and logos.
KFC, the Louisville-based global giant, is planning to take its store count in India to 75 by the end of the year, from the current 60, and add drive-through formats, according to Unnat Verma, marketing director in KFC India. The company recently told analysts and investors on a conference call that India had the potential for some 1,000 KFC outlets and that there could be at least 500 outlets in the country by 2015.
Yum! Brands, which operates the Pizza Hut and KFC chains, said it would also open India's first Taco bell restaurant in Bangalore by the fiscal end.
India QSR Kaati Zone, promoted by East West Ethnic Foods and which specializes in Indian-rolls, recently changed its logo, brought in fresh items into its menu, and is now targeting to reach the 100-store landmark by 2012, from about 15 now. Kaati Zone COO Parag Datta said the first store in Mumbai would open in December. The plan is to proliferate initially in the South and the West.
Special Indices
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KFC is planning to take its store count in India to 75 by the end of the year, from the current 60, and add drive-through formats
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Yum! Brands, which operates the Pizza Hut and KFC chains, said it would also open India's first Taco bell restaurant in Bangalore by the fiscal end
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Kaati Zone, which specializes in Indian-rolls, recently changed its logo, brought in fresh items into its menu, and is now targeting to reach the 100-store landmark by 2012, from about 15 now
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Global Franchise Architects, which owns Pizza Corner, Coffee World, Cream & Fudge Factory, and Donut Baker, is also targeting about 100 stores in the next one year
Changes in the menu
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McDonald's is launching health food products to change its image of being an unhealthy food option
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KFC added several ne snacking products
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Kaati Zone has introduced a range of new choices for customers including salads, non-vegetarian snack options, jumbo-sized kaati rolls and deserts
Pizza Hut is looking at becoming a more affordable casual dining option, serving a range of new items such as pastas, soups, salads, starters, beverages and deserts
Global Franchise Architects (GFA), which owns the brands Pizza Corner, Coffee World, Cream & Fudge Factory, and Donut Baker, is also targeting about 100 stores in the next one year, spread across its brands. "In Bangalore alone, we are looking at taking the store count to about 33 from the current 30 in the next year," GFA India CEO Joseph Cherian said. In Kolkata, the company has tied up with Gama Hospitality to open 35 new stores in the next year and a half. "The investment in these stores will vary from Rs 5 lakh for small kiosks to Rs 75 lakh for bigger outlets. About 65% of these outlets would be company owned. We are also expanding via tie-ups with Spencer's and other franchise retailers," said Cherian.
Many are also redoing their menus. McDonald's is launching health food products to change its image of being an unhealthy food option. KFC has added several snacking products. "Our first beverage initiative called Crushers has been designed for the youth of today," Verma said.
Kaati Zone has removed products that were not mobile and introduced a range of new choices for customers including salads, non-vegetarian snack options, jumbo-sized kaati rolls and deserts. Pizza Hut is looking at becoming a more affordable casual dining option, serving a range of new items such as pastas, soups, salads, starters, beverages and deserts.
The brand has been reported to have seen a 25% increase in sales during pilot tests with the new menu.
The excitement in the segment is best captured by these words from Yum! Brands CEO David Novak, which were said at the same conference call: "We are definitely on the verge of making great things happen in India...India has always been a market that we wanted to build scale."
- Arpita Biswas
