F&B News

Papa John's pizza brand plans pan-India expansion

EH Staff - Mumbai

Tapan Vaidya, GM, JIP and Myles Felt, VP (International), Papa John’s

American pizza chain Papa John's franchised in India by retail brand, JIP Fashion and Restaurant (JIP), is planning to make its presence felt pan-India by opening 100 outlets in next four years. Tapan Vaidya, general manager of JIP, said, "We will be investing approximately Rs 250 crore in the four-year expansion plan." The brand is currently present in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Baroda, Ahmedabad and Bangalore and is looking at entering Hyderabad, Chennai and Surat.

The outlets will work on both traditional and non-traditional store models serving pizza at a take-away, delivery and sit-down models. Myles Felt, VP (international), Papa John’s, said, "Growth in the number of total pizza outlets in the last eight to nine years has been 15 to 20 per cent and I expect it to grow even faster at 25 to 40 per cent this year and beyond." Papa John’s recently opened its fourth outlet in Powai, Mumbai. As an interesting marketing strategy for the newly-opened store, the first 50 customers will be served free pizza once a week for the entire year.

JIP is also master franchise for The Great Kebab Factory for Mumbai and South India. JIP is also looking at bringing in American casual dining restaurant Chili's to India.