The Hindu Business Line : Pizza Hut opens 50th outlet

The 108-seater dine-in restaurant is the fifth in the city. Yum! Restaurants International (Pizza Hut's parent company) plans to open 50 more restaurants by the end of next year.

"Growth will be driven by the development in the retail sector - with shopping and multiplexes," said Mr Sandeep Kohli, Managing Director - Indian subcontinent, Yum! Restaurants International, which also owns the KFC and Taco Bell chains. "Also, there is a growing familiarity with this format of eating out."

Pizza Hut is present in 15 cities currently, and plans to be in 22 cities by the end of this year, and in 35 cities by the end of next year. Its expansion plan is aimed at taking the restaurant to smaller cities, too, where big brands typically aren't present, Mr Kohli added.

Pizza Hut also recently launched a new communication campaign, which seeks to portray the restaurant as a fun place to be in with family and friends.

"You cannot eat a pizza alone, so you have to go with your family and friends," Mr Kohli said. "So it's a brand that brings people together."

While fast food companies are facing increasing pressure from consumer activist groups and the Government in many western markets over the negative health impact of many of their products, in India fast food is not yet big enough to pose a threat, Mr Kohli said. Besides, there has been a conscious effort to introduce healthier options such as salads and thin crust pizzas, he added. Pizza Hut's offerings in India include soups, salads, appetisers, pastas, desserts and a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian pizzas.

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