India franchisee Jubilant Foodworks is looking for store spaces to open Popeyes in Chandigarh, Delhi NCR, Punjab, Haryana and other states
New Delhi: US-based fried chicken chain Popeyes is now planning to aggressively expand in north India and is looking to open around 15-20 stores in the region in the next six months, two people familiar with the development said.
“Jubilant is looking for store spaces to open Popeyes in Chandigarh, Delhi NCR, Punjab, Haryana and other states,” said a person familiar with the development.
Another person said India franchisee Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. plans to open 15-20 Popeyes stores in north India in the coming six months but it will depend on the availability of store spaces in the right locations.
Jubilant FoodWorks declined to comment on IndiaRetailing.com’s query on the topic citing a silent period.
IndiaRetailing had reported earlier this week that Popeyes has already taken space in Faridabad’s newly-opened Mall of Faridabad where a store is currently under fit-outs bearing a sign of “coming soon.”
Popeyes entered India in January 2022 with an outlet in Bengaluru. So far, Jubilant has only opened Popeyes restaurants in southern India as part of its cluster approach and has rolled out the brand in cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Madurai and Manipal.
Popeyes is famous for its fried chicken and will compete directly with Yum Brands’ KFC chain. KFC entered India way back in 1995 with an outlet in Bengaluru. Currently, KFC operates around 1,300 fast-food restaurants through two of its India franchisees Devyani International and Sapphire Foods. Meanwhile, Jubilant has so far opened 19 joints of Popeyes in India and a dozen of them in Bengaluru.
India is key to the long-term growth plans of the US-based fried chicken brand according to its CEO Joshua Kobza
Founded in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1972 by Al Copeland, Popeyes is a fast-food brand known for its fried chicken. Currently, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. operates around 3,700 plus Popeyes across the globe.
