Last October, Popeyes overtook kfc” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” title=”KFC” data-wpil-keyword-link=”linked”>KFC to become the second-largest chicken chain in the U.S. In India, the fried chicken newcomer has been rapidly expanding its footprint over the last two quarters. Can it challenge the dominance of Colonel Sanders in India?
Gaurav Pande, Executive Vice President and Business Head of Popeyes India, emphasizes a key point: don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Pande took 12 months to carefully plan before expanding beyond Bengaluru. Launched by Domino’s Jubilant FoodWorks—master franchise of Domino’s and Dunkin’ in India—in January 2022, Popeyes remained in Bengaluru for over a year before moving into Chennai in February 2023.
Sixteen months later, Popeyes has expanded to 42 outlets across 15 cities. “It takes time to win over consumers,” says Pande. He reveals the secret behind their crunchy chicken: marinating it for 12 hours. Chicken is marinated in Cajun seasoning, hand-battered, and breaded for a perfect crunch. “We offer antibiotic-free and fresh chicken,” he emphasizes.
It took Popeyes a year to move out of its first city. However, the pace has picked up over the last three quarters, with plans to open 50 more stores in FY25. The medium-term target is 250 stores, according to the latest investor presentation by Jubilant FoodWorks. Pande explains that the first year was focused on perfecting the product. Despite being the second largest in the U.S., Popeyes was entering a new country.
Sameer Khetarpal, CEO and Managing Director of Jubilant FoodWorks since September 2022, outlines their strategy. “There were four parameters to frame the expansion plan,” he says. The first was demand. “We need to identify chicken-eating markets,” he said in a Q3FY23 earnings call. “Seventy percent of Indians eat chicken, with a higher proportion in the South compared to the West.” Bengaluru, a significant market for KFC, Domino’s, and other QSR players, has 18 Popeyes outlets.
The second factor was store economics, including return on investment (RoI), payback period, store location, and rental negotiations. Next was the ability to serve consumers. “We are the only player offering fresh chicken,” Khetarpal claimed.
The final factor was managing operations. “You need a trained crew to fry, change the oil, and serve customers,” he concluded.
Popeyes sees a strong potential to scale in India. Pizza outlets per million population are almost 3.7 times more than fried chicken outlets. Among the top 20 cities in India, there are only 4.2 fried chicken stores per million, according to a QSR report by Elara Securities. India has about 1,120 fried chicken outlets. “The chicken category—both organized and unorganized—is growing,” says KS Narayanan, a food and beverage expert. While KFC leads the organized category, the unorganized segment is filled with small players catering to local tastes. “Popeyes stands a good chance to succeed,” he adds.
For Popeyes, the key challenge is ensuring both scale and consistency in product quality. “QSR is a mass game. Aggressiveness is needed to grow in India,” says Ashita Aggarwal, marketing professor at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research. The brand must maintain its promise of antibiotic-free and fresh chicken. “Scaling is tough due to supply-chain constraints in India,” she notes. Competing with KFC, which has been in India for nearly three decades, will be difficult. “It takes years to understand the Indian consumer,” she adds.
Khetarpal acknowledges these challenges. “We must learn to walk before we can run,” he said in the Q4FY24 earnings call.
The brand has learned, fine-tuned its approach, and partnered with the global team to create an India-centric model. “We are confident of making Popeyes India’s fastest QSR to achieve revenue of Rs1,000 crore,” he asserted.