Another US fast food chain set to expand in India
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New Delhi, Aug 10: India has emerged as the fastest growing market for Taco Bell as the brand’s 100th store is set to open by the end of August in the country.
Burman Hospitality, the master franchise partner of Taco Bell in India, plans to invest $100 million to take the total count of restaurants to 600 over the next few years. The brand’s footprint in the country is being scaled up aggressively with the addition of one new restaurant every 3-4 days.
Ankush Tuli, Managing Director, Taco Bell APAC, told BusinessLine, “We had opened our 50th store as recently as October and now we are all set to open the 100th store in Delhi by the end of August. We are on track to open 600 restaurants in India in the medium term. The brand’s footprint is being scaled up aggressively with the addition of one new restaurant every 80 hours. India is now amongst our largest markets outside of the US and is also the fastest growing market for Taco Bell International.” The brand had appointed Burman Hospitality as the national master franchise partner in India in 2019 as part of its strategy to ramp up its presence in the country. Gaurav Burman, Director, Burman Hospitality, said, “We have been focusing on getting our strategies in place in terms of multiple formats for the restaurants and a robust national supply chain which has been indigenized. So, we are now looking at the rapid expansion of the brand across the country. We have already invested north of $50 million to date and the rate of investment will rise rapidly. We will invest north of $100 million to reach our goal of 600 restaurants in the medium term.“ The company is focusing on opening new restaurants not just in the metros but also in tier-1 markets. The brand recently forayed in cities such as Guwahati, Surat, Vadodara, and Ahemdabad and currently has a presence in over 19 cities in the country. Nearly 50 percent of the offerings on the menu of the US-based QSR restaurant brand in India are vegetarian, in line with its localization strategy.
“Indian consumers are fast embracing Taco Bell for its distinctive offerings and the growth opportunity is massive. We are also uniquely positioned in a time of high inflationary pressures as the brand is built on innovation and offers incredible value to consumers. We are seeing strong traction in India for our differentiated positioning and customized offerings,” Julie Masino, President, of Taco Bell International, said.