KFC plans 40 more outlets

Kentucky Fried Chicken, a division of Yum! Brands, is looking at opening 40 more outlets all over India by next year.

At present there are 20 KFC outlets in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, and Agra.

"Of the 40 more outlets, about 10 would be company-owned and the rest run on franchisee model," said Ajay Bansal, director for business development in the Indian subcontinent of Yum! Restaurants International, the Indian arm of KFC.

Each company-owned outlet would require an investment of Rs 125 crore (Rs 1.25 billion) in India. Each outlet fetches sales of approximately Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million) in India every year.

"As of now we are buying the raw material from Venkateshwara Hatcheries in Pune. We are also looking at tying up with local hatcheries for supply of raw material," said Bansal.

"In China we already have about 200 company-owned outlets and are still setting up 2 outlets everyday. We want to replicate the same model in India," claimed Bansal.

KFC is also trying to Indianise the brand with Indian chicken specials such as Chicken Tikka on the menu.

About 50 per cent of KFC menu were vegetarian items despite its name. "Vegetarian food sales contribute 30 per cent to our overall sales in India," claimed Ravi Jaipuria, chairman, Varun Beverages Limited.

"As our brand name is strong on chicken and that's our area of specialisation, we continue to be dominated by non-vegetarian sales, although we try to push vegetarian food with every customer," admitted Bansal.