Yum plans to double India business by 2010

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc., parent of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut fast-food chains, plans to double its Indian revenues by 2010 as it adds more restaurants, its top Indian official said on Friday.

"We will be adding around 30-40 restaurants annually for the next three years," said Niren Chaudhary, India managing director for Yum International Restaurants.

"We want to serve a larger customer base, with focus on being relevant to Indian customers," he added while opening a food festival at a New Delhi Pizza Hut outlet.

Louisville, Kentucky based Yum, operates 134 Pizza Hut restaurants in India and plans to scale up to 175 by 2010. Pizza Hut serves over 300,000 customers every week in India, Chaudhary said.

The firm also runs 30 KFC outlets in India and plans to add 15-20 new restaurants every year up to 2010, he said.

Yum has tweaked it prices and menus to account for Indian incomes, tastes and sensitivities.

Yum competes with McDonald's, Domino's, Pizza Corner and local brands such as Nirulas, and Haldiram in the 11 billion rupee organised food and beverage retail sector that is growing at around 25-30 percent annually.