American pizza chain Papa John’s is set to return to India with a mix of small and large-format stores, eight years after exiting the market, Tapan Vaidya, Group CEO at master franchisee PJP Investments Group, said in an exclusive conversation with FE on Friday.
The UAE-based PJP Investments Group, along with investment firm Pulsar Capital, are joint master franchisee of Papa John’s in India. The partners plan to launch a total of 650 restaurants in the country over the next decade, all company-owned and operated, aiming to capitalise on India’s booming eating-out market.
Vaidya declined to specify investment numbers, saying Papa John’s new innings is almost two years in the making, with the franchisee partners carefully planning their strategy to focus on one city at a time, prioritise quality ingredients, and deliver a fresh baking experience.
On Friday, Papa John’s, best-known for its crusty pizzas, opened four dine-in restaurants in Bengaluru, its first city of launch. These dine-in outlets, located in Indiranagar, Sarjapur Road, Electronic City and Hennur, each are around 1,600 to 2,000 sq ft in size, and will act as flagships as the pizza chain looks to recruit consumers quickly. Papa John’s, which is America’s third-largest pizza chain, is also keeping pizza prices in the range of Rs 149-799, emphasising the quality of its ingredients, though rivals such as Domino’s offer pizzas for as low as Rs 49 a unit and have aggressive offers in the sub-Rs 180 price point.
Smaller 1,200-sqft outlets of Papa John’s catering largely to deliveries and takeaways will come later, as the retailer eyes a faster rollout across Bengaluru in two years, Vaidya said.
“Three more restaurants are slated for launch before the end of the current calendar year in Bengaluru. We’ll raise the number to 30 restaurants in two years before we expand to cities such as Chennai and Hyderabad. We’ll move to the north thereafter,” Vaidya said.
The fast-food brand will also ensure that two-thirds of its menu offerings cater to Indian consumers, either through vegetarian pizzas or Indian innovations such as a ghee roast pizza or pizzas with a tandoori sauce. “The split will be one-third for our global best-sellers, one-third for our India-centric vegetarian pizzas and one-third for our India-focused menu targeting local tastes and flavours,” he said.
Papa John’s has also tied up with Coca-Cola as its beverage partner and will also have starters and desserts on its menu, Vaidya added.
Papa John’s has also set up a quality control centre in Hennur, which will act as the back-end support for its chain of stores across Bengaluru, providing freshly-prepared dough for its pizzas on a daily basis. A similar hub-and-spoke model will be replicated in all other cities where the retailer will expand its presence, Vaidya said.
Papa John’s re-entry into India is being closely tracked as the world’s top three pizza chains, including Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, compete for a share of wallet in the country. The domestic pizza market, valued at `15,000 crore, is growing annually at 9.3% per annum, according to industry experts.
A fourth American pizza player, called Little Caesars, among the world’s largest family-owned pizza chains, launched a store in Delhi in June, with plans to add around 100 stores in the next few years.