Taco Bell is embarking on an Expansion drive in India

Mexican Fast food chain Taco Bell Owned by the US-based Yum! Brands Inc., is embarking on an expansion drive in India and plans to open more outlets in 12 cities in the next four years.

At present it operates nine stores in three cities and plans to add three more outlets taking the number to 12 by the year-end.

The company has partnered with the promoter family of Dabur, the Burmans whose firm Burman Hospitality has taken the franchise for north and some southern markets such as Karnataka and Telangana.

“Our initial focus will be the top metros and their neighbouring cities. We are already present in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. These three are important markets,” Taco Bell India managing director Ankush Tuli said.

Taco Bell plans to enter cities such as Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad, The company plans to have multiples stores in big citie,s he said. “We are looking to 10-12 cities between now and 2020.”

Taco Bell is also tweaking and adapting some local flavours in its menu to suit the Indian palate. “We have now tikka masala burrito. We are among the few global markets of Taco Bell which has an R&D facility. The entire vegetarian range is made for India as we do not have vegetarian outside much of India,” said Tuli.

He said by the end of this year, Taco Bell would completely source raw material and equipment locally.

Burman Hospitality Launches First Taco Bell Outlet

Taco Bell, the world’s largest Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain made its debut in New Delhi with its first outlet at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj. Taco Bell announced the Delhi launch with Burman Hospitality Private Limited (BHPL), its first franchisee in India incorporated by The Burman Family, the promoters of Dabur. In addition to the grand opening in New Delhi, Taco Bell has six restaurants in Mumbai and Bangalore. Taco Bell with Burman Hospitality Private Limited aims to take the count to 25 restaurants in the next 18-24 months.

The new restaurant’s contemporary design is inspired by its Mexican-style cuisine and the brand’s California-based heritage. It has an urban fresh look which brings to life the brand’s belief in freshness and made-to-order food which can be seen from the open kitchen. The 75-seater Delhi restaurant will offer international classics like Crunchy Taco Supreme, Crunchwrap and Burritos as well as Kathitto developed especially for India to suit the local palate.

Speaking about the launch Unnat Varma, General Manager – Taco Bell & Pizza Hut said: “Delhi fans have been asking for Taco Bell in their city and we are excited to offer our signature Mexican-inspired food and break-through value to our consumers here who have a youthful spirit. With a strong proof of concept in Bangalore and Mumbai, we are now eager to increase our footprint across India and are delighted to work with Burman Hospitality as part of our expansion strategy into northern states including New Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.”

On the other side, Gaurav Burman, Director, Burman Hospitality Private Limited said: “We are delighted and honoured to work with Yum, the largest restaurant company in the world to grow Taco Bell in India. We believe Taco Bell with its differentiated and innovative product offering will win the hearts and stomachs of the Indian consumer. We look forward to opening Taco Bell restaurants across India and making it the most successful QSR brand in the country.”

Founded in 1962 by former U.S. Marine Glen Bell in Downey, California, Taco Bell proudly serves made-to-order and customisable tacos, burritos, and other specialties with bold flavours, quality ingredients, breakthrough value, and best in class customer service to over 36 million customers weekly across the globe. Taco Bell and its more than 350 franchise organisations have more than 6,000 restaurants across the United States and continue to grow with over 250 restaurants internationally including Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Asrapport Dining Signs Franchise Agreement with Taco Bell Corp.

Asrapport Dining Co., Ltd  announced  that it has signed a franchise agreement with Taco Bell Corp. for restaurant openings in Japan.

Asrapport Dining is a publicly traded holding company which operates a food service franchise business with 429 restaurants throughout Japan including Japanese style “Izakaya” pub and barbecue restaurants. In signing this agreement, Asrapport Dining will become a franchisee of one of the largest global quick service restaurant (QSR) brands to operate “Taco Bell” restaurants in Japan.

“Our main business realm is dinner time pub style restaurants. We seek to increase the competitive strength of our portfolio and grow the number of our restaurants that frequented by customers throughout the entire day,” said Shusaku Higaki, Asrapport Dining CEO. “We believe that 'Taco Bell' holds strong growth potential and will enable us to create a new QSR category by cultivating the strong latent demand for Mexican inspired foods within Japan.”

Taco Bell Corp., a member of the Yum! Brands, Inc., currently operates more than 6,000 restaurants globally, and seeks to increase its restaurant numbers by 2,000 and 1,300 inside and outside of the United States by 2022 and 2023 respectively. They will cultivate market opportunities outside the U.S. to create a new growth model for Taco Bell and to fortify its global presence. Their global expansion strategy is focused upon Europe (UK, Poland), Asia (Korea, Japan and Thailand), Latin America (Chile, Peru) and India.

“We look forward to growing Taco Bell, which is one of the largest QSR chains in U.S. and globally, as part of their global expansion strategy. Furthermore, this development is an integral part of our own growth strategy,” said Higaki.

Taco bell rings its bell in Mumbai

America’s Mexican fast food restaurant chain, Taco Bell recently opened two more outlets in Mumbai. The outlets are located in Ghatkopar and Thane. Taco Bell is a part of Yum! Restaurants India which is a subsidiary of ‘Yum! Brands’. Internationally, Taco Bell has over 6000 stores in 16 countries including India. In India, Taco Bell has four outlets in Bangalore and now three in Mumbai. ‘Yum! Brands’ owns three of the leading restaurant brands worldwide – Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell.

Launched in India in 2010, Taco Bell serves Mexican fast food that is both craveable and packed with flavours. With absolutely new food formats and bold flavours, Taco Bell is a delight for consumers who want to experience some ‘food adventure’.

Unnat Varma, General Manager, Taco Bell & Pizza Hut, India said: “At Taco Bell, we serve fast food that is crunchy, cheesy and extremely flavourful. Our experience both in Bangalore and Mumbai has been fantastic with consumers thoroughly enjoying new food formats like Tacos, Chalupas and Quesadillas. Though our food has familiar ingredients but they are done very differently.”

Taco Bell menu boasts of items that are hot and cold, soft and crunchy, all at the same time - a true multi-sensorial food experience. 

Taco Bell Is Hungry for Global Expansion

Taco Bell is ready to serve up Waffle Tacos everywhere from Peru to India.

Taco Bell announced plans to add 1,300 new locations internationally by 2023 -- a significant increase from its current 250 locations overseas. The increase in international units would, by the company's estimates, generate an additional $2 billion in sales.

Growth will be focused in European, Asian and South American countries including the U.K., Korea, Japan, Chile, Peru and India.

The chain franchises 250 restaurants in 26 countries internationally -- notably less than its Yum Brands sister chains, KFC and Pizza Hut. KFC especially relies on international sales, with more than 4,600 restaurants in China making up about a third of total global KFC locations.

The international focus is part of Taco Bell's larger plan to become a $14 billion brand by 2022.  In addition to the influx of international locations, Taco Bell also plans to add 2,000 restaurants domestically. Right now, the chain has nearly 6,000 locations in the U.S., opening a record-setting 200 new restaurants domestically in 2014.

Taco Bell has celebrated a strong year keeping things domestic. Taco Bell reliably increased sales and maintained social media buzz throughout 2014. Now it's time to see if the success can continue overseas.