After having KFC and Pizza Hut as successful brands in India, Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) is now focusing on developing Taco Bell as the third brand in India. As a part of its strategy, the fast food restaurant operator opened the first Taco Bell restaurant in Bangalore, India.
The sluggish sales in the U.S. have prompted Yum! to focus more on emerging markets, such as India, which still remains untapped fully. The company remains confident about the success of Mexican-inspired quick-service restaurant brand, whose menu features tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas and Crunchwraps with menu pricing starting as low as 35 cents.
With the saturation of the U.S. market and the recession taking its toll on restaurants, the industry is concentrating more on the overseas market. Apart from India, Yum! operates Taco Bell restaurants in Canada, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Guam, Iceland, Philippines, Dubai, Spain and Cyprus. As of fiscal 2009, the company operated over 250 Taco Bell restaurants outside the U.S.
Louisville, Kentucky-based company, Yum!, plans to accelerate its expansion in India. The company, which currently operates about 158 Pizza Hut restaurants in 34 cities and 72 KFC outlets in 13 cities in India, plans to increase its total restaurant count to 1,000 by 2015.
The Indian market has been virtually recession-proof providing ample growth opportunities. Yum! plans to tap India’s organized food and beverage market, which is growing rapidly.
Yum!’s restaurants in India, which are managed by Niren Chaudhary, faces stiff competition from other fast-food chains such as McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) and Domino’s Pizza Inc. (DPZ).
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