Burger King to use recent profits to pursue aggressive growth

Having crossed the 100 mark earlier this month, Burger King now plans to add a further 30-35 outlets in the country this year.

According to Rajeev Varman, the American chain’s regional chief executive, Burger King India achieved profitability this year, after three years operating in the country.

India is one of the fastest-growing markets for Burger King. We are extremely positive and bullish about the potential of the Indian QSR industry for the next three-five years. We should probably end this year with 130-135 restaurants,” he said. 

The chain, which is currently present in 28 cities, will then seek to maintain a pace of growth that will see 35-45 outlets opening each year. 

The company, one of the late entrants to the Indian QSR space, is present in 28 cities right now.

Talking about future growth plans, Varman said Burger King will continue to focus on opening 35-45 outlets a year and sustain this pace of growth thereafter.

If you look at the cities we are currently present in, there is still a lot of work to do and grow the brand’s penetration,” Varman said.

At the same time, our planning process is on and we will take a call on adding new cities by September-end,” he said.

Burger King has also been focusing on growing its home-delivery business—one of the fastest-growing segments in the Indian food industry. 

Over the last one-and-a-half years, we have grown the home-delivery business by double digits and it has now become a significant portion of our business,” Varman added.