Popeyes, Tim Hortons among brands stepping into post-COVID India

Several global brands have made an entry into India in the last few months with Reliance’s franchise partnership with British sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger being the latest one. After tough two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 10 international brands including Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons and US fried chicken brand Popeyes have come to India.

In January, Jubilant Foodworks Ltd (JFL), the country’s leading quick service restaurant (QSR) operator, announced the launch of Popeyes in India by opening its first store in Bengaluru.

Also read: Retail businesses grow 24 pc in May against pre-pandemic level: Report

Louisiana-born Popeyes was founded in 1972 and has been one of America’s most popular and fastest-growing chicken brands.

“Over the years, Popeyes has emerged as one of the most loved brands across the globe, and we aspire to recreate that same excitement and loyalty for Popeyes and its signature dishes in India as well,” JFL Chief Executive Officer Pratik Pota said.

David Shear, president of RBI International, the parent company of Popeyes, said: “This new country entry illustrates our commitment to serving more guests around the world with our signature blend of spices and flavours. We are confident that our India guests will love their Fried Chicken from Popeyes, and we look forward to this launch.”

Also read: Soaring egg prices leave household food budgets scrambling

On Thursday, (June 30), Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) a unit of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd announced a strategic partnership with Pret A Manger to launch and build the brand in the country.

According to a Mint report, Pano Christou, the chief executive of Pret A Manger, said in an interview, “I think there’s a strong connection between the UK and India—the number of students that come to the UK, people travelling to the UK for pleasure. And I think that when you look at the younger population in India, they are going out more, eating out more, experimenting more. I think India is a very exciting market.”

Tim Hortons will enter the Indian market with its first outlet in Delhi and has targeted to open 250-300 stories in the next five years.

Also read: On sacking 2,500 staffers, Byju’s says it is only ‘optimising’ its teams

“First Delhi, then Punjab. We are basically eyeing the Punjabi speaking belt. Tim Hortons is a Canadian brand and there is much awareness about it among Punjabis. Following that we are looking at the west – in and around Mumbai and Gujarat. We plan to open 120 stores in 3 years and 250-300 in the next five years,” Navin Gurnaney, India CEO, Tim Hortons, told Business Today.

Store sizes increasing

The pace of expansion of international brands slowed between April 2020 and October 2021. Many are opting for large-format stores outside the metros, realty developers and consultants said, according to an Economic Times report.

Demand from big names has surged across Nexus Malls’ portfolio of 17 malls in 13 cities, according to its chief leasing officer Nirzar Jain, the report added.

“Over the last six months or so, large-format international brands across Nexus Malls have ramped up store sizes by 20-30%, depending on the nature of their business,” he said.

According to property consultant Anarock Retail, demand for luxury goods in India has been consistent.

Also read: Isha Ambani set for top role: All you need to know about Mukesh’s daughter

“Brands like Uniqlo, Zara and H&M have been expanding in India after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Since the situation is still fluid with respect to the pandemic, we will probably see more aggressive plays from these and other brands,” Pankaj Renjhen, chief operating officer and joint managing director at Anarock Retail, was quoted as saying in the report.

‘Quality experience’

According to a property consultant, brands are looking to give “quality experience” to customers at their stores.

“Many international brands took the opportunity to expand in markets where they never had any presence. Brands have realised that the only way to get consumers back into stores is to provide quality experience. This has also led to many brands increasing the size of their existing stores,” Mukesh Kumar, managing director and chief executive, Quest Properties India, told ET.

(With inputs from agencies)