Domino’s Aims To Target Tier II, III Cities For Expansion

Strengthening its presence in tier II and III cities, Domino’s Pizza has opened two restaurants one each in Gorakhpur and Udaipur.In the last one year, Domino’s Pizza has aggressively strengthened its presence in cities including Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), Korba (Chhattisgarh), Rajahmundry (AP), Aligarh (UP), Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Belgaum (Karnataka), Dharamshala (HP) and Rangpo (Sikkim).

Commenting on the expansion, Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant FoodWorks Limited said: “We are extremely happy to be expanding our footprint on way to achieving our ambition of being in the vicinity of every pizza lover in the country. We would like to thank all our loyal customers, whose love and loyalty for the brand has been our constant motivation in this success journey and we are confident that we will become the restaurant of choice for all pizza lovers.”

While, Harneet Singh Rajpal, Senior Vice-President-Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India said, “Every restaurant that we launch in a new city brings us closer to our consumers and helps us deliver the best of our products and services to them. Over the last decade, we have been the fastest growing food service company in India and have successfully pioneered innovative concepts and products for the Indian taste palette. I would like to thank all our consumers who have shown immense love and support for us and our brand. I hope new restaurants help all the pizza lovers here to celebrate their moments of happiness and create wonderful memories with their loved ones.” 

Jubilant FoodWorks Limited is part of Jubilant Bhartia group and one of India’s largest food service companies, with a network of 795 Domino’s Pizza restaurants across 166 cities.

Sbarro To Open 40 Outlets Pan-India

Sbarro, an American-Italian pizza restaurant chain, is planning aggressive expansion in North and East India. The company plans to open upto 40 outlets in the next five years in Delhi NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan, Kolkata and Gujarat at key strategic locations like malls, metro locations, airports, universities and tech parks. 

Setting foot in North India, the brand that specialises in New York-style pizzas and other Italian-American cuisine, recently launched its first outlet at Huda City Centre Metro Station, Gurgaon. JIFPL - Jyoti International Foods Pvt. Ltd, a leading company in the food supply chain/cold chain sector, is the Master Franchisee of Sbarro for North and East India. JIFPL started its services in 2003 as a Subway franchisee and launched its distribution and logistics services in 2005. Their clientele includes Subway, Chili’s, Krispy Kreme, and Starbucks. 

The Sbarro brand continues to expand in India largely due to our guests’ demand for our high-quality pizzas and Italian food, but also mainly because of our greatfranchise partners. With the support of our partners, India has proven to provide a solid foundation for our brand and we look forward to many continued successes,” said J David Karam, CEO and Chairman, Board of Sbarro LLC.

Speaking on the occasion, Akhil Puri, CEO, JIFPL said, “We aim to build a connect with our customers by promoting the "My Life My Slice" concept and by providing them with fresh and high-quality food at an affordable price.”

Suresh Talreja, MD, JIFPL also commented, “Our endeavour is to bring a fresh perspective to the Italian QSR segment by introducing the pizza-by-slice concept. We hope that the brand will create a niche place for itself in the consumer mind space.” 

Global Franchise Architects invests Rs 40 crore in its India operations

Geneva-based Global Franchise Architects which runs food brands like Pizza Corner and Donut Bakers is investing Rs 40 crore to expand operations at its Indian subsidiary.

The funding will be primarily used for the growth of Pizza Corner according to Joseph Cherian, CEO of GFA Global. "The organised food sector in India is growing rapidly and the pizza category is growing at 25 %" said Cherian.

The company keen to capture a slice of the growing action in India's pizza industry which is valued at Rs 1200 crore, had been scouting for risk capital for over a year now.

However a lack of consensus on valuation has stymied plans to raise private equity funding.

GFA is also changing its franchise strategy for its flagship Pizza Corner brand. So far, almost 75% of the 60 Pizza Corner stores in India are owned by franchisees. However, as the company expands into new markets it will have a majority of corporate- owned stores in the next few years.

The brand plans to launch 25 stores in the next nine months, primarily in South India.. "Once we have a sustainable model in one region, it is easier to expand, because entry cost is always large in the back end," said Cherian. The company has posted an increase in India revenues by 25% annually for the past couple of years.

Manhattan Pizza Hires Sparkleminds to Roll Out International Pizza Franchises In India

Bangalore, India (PressExposure) October 25, 2012 -- Manhattan Pizza ( http://www.manhattanpizza.com )a U.S.A based restaurant group, with expertise in making gourmet pizzas plans its strategy to enter the Indian market. Manhattan Pizza is well-known for its award winning New York Style preparation of Pizzas and their entry into the lucrative Indian market seems opportune as the Indian audience has now matured to the authentic taste of Pizza.

In July of 2009 and 2011 Manhattan Pizza was voted as the best pizza by readers of the Washingtonian Magazine. This is an honour bestowed to only the finest dining establishments in the Washington DC area.Along with serving delectable NY Pizza,Manhattan also offer Subs, Salads, Sandwiches, Calzones, Souvlaki, Gyros and Pastas making the menu both extensive and scrumptious. When one enters a Manhattan Pizzeria they experience a little bit of Italy, a wee bit of Greece and Americana in the comfort of their own neighbourhood.

The Azar brothersstarted operations in 1997 and with several years of prior restaurant experience developed Manhattan Pizza into a neighbourhood "fast casual" pizzeria that is second to none. Ever since its start Manhattan Pizza's loyal customer base has grown exponentially. Manhattan has been serving delectable New York style pizza by combining the freshest, highest quality ingredients with authentic original Italian and Greek recipes for over a decade. The décor of the outlets are New York themed with wooden floors and a cosy ambience and sounds which currently is lacking in the Indian market where all the chains have a similar look and feel.

Jack Azar, Founder & CEO of Manhattan Pizza is eager to step into the Indian market and is confident of great response, "We don't feel like a monotonous Pizza chain and eating a pie at Manhattan is an experience around which memories are made, we are not just another Pizza joint, we are your friendly neighbourhood pizzeria where the food is always fresh and hot and the serving staff are always warm and jovial."

P.K. Goriparthi, Executive Director & Head of International Expansion for Manhattan Pizza had the following to say after completing an exhaustive tour across India in August 2012. "The timing looks optimum and the market still remains an open ball park even with the head start a few chains might have had. Wereceived very nice response already and see a lot of scope to grow not only in the tier I cities but also in tier II cities. I am optimistic and excited to bring Manhattan Pizza to India."

Abhinav Bindra enters Pizza business

Olympic gold medalist-ace shooter Abhinav Bindra has formed a joint venture company with Pizza Vito, an international chain of pizzas, to launch its brand in India. The new company Pizza Vito Holdings would soon launch its outlets in Gurgaon, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana. The company said it would open 500 outlets over the next five years through the franchisee model. 

“This will be followed by a unique pizza wine to be introduced for the first time and to be imported from the customised vineyards of Sicily. The company has mega plans to introduce Pizza Vito to other Asian countries such as Kuwait, the UAE, Malaysia, Singapore,” it said a statement.