In a recent report, Yum! Brands, the USD 16 billion owners of Kentuky Fried Chicken fast food restaurant, joins the growing number of foods and beverages companies hopping on to the health and nutrition platform. David C Novak, global chairman and CEO of the Kentucky-based fast-food company that also owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and A&W Restaurants, said the move would be kicked off within three months in India.

The calorie information is already present on product packs in parts of the US. Novak, who is on a four-day market review visit to the country, said as he took a large bite of his favourite Zinger burger at the newly opened KFC outlet in New Delhi’s Connaught Place.

While same-store sales of KFC in India are growing at 22 per cent, those of Pizza Hut are growing at over 7 per cent. Globally, same-store sales were flat for the company for July-September period, although it reported an 18 per cent jump in profits, chiefly on strong sales in China.

According to the report, by 2015, the parent company is looking to invest an additional USD100-120 million in the Indian operations as direct equity on top of USD 100 million it has already invested.

Yum! India is working towards a restaurant footprint of 1,000 in 62 Indian cities by 2015, up from around 200 now. “Today, 100 million people can afford to eat our food, five years from now, we expect the number to be 200 million,” said Novak in the report.

Currently there are 140 Pizza Hut stores in 35 Indian cities and 55 KFCs across 12 cities, but Novak believes KFC will be the stronger brand in India in the long term. Pizza Hut began its India operations in 1996 and KFC in 2006. Taco Bell, a third brand from the Yum! stable, is expected to open its first outlet in the country in Bangalore in the next couple of months.

Source: Economic Times